


Spoonful of Love

by SoraKillua



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternative Perspective, Falling In Love, Food, Love Confessions, M/M, Mushy, Psychological Trauma, Relationship Problems, resturant, working adult
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:13:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 84,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28089078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoraKillua/pseuds/SoraKillua
Summary: When Naruto's pride is threatened by the attitude of a moody customer, he can't sit by and let everything be walked over. Sasuke could care less about the chef's antics; problem is, his stomach refuses food from anywhere else. A deal is struck, but love never ran smooth. Can the two headstrong males push aside their egos to realize that there's more to food than meets the eye?
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 82
Kudos: 95





	1. Chapter 1

**Author Notes:**

**Thank you for clicking to this story. It will be a simple one with some spices, probably around eight chapters. I just went to a restaurant I really love the other day and this story hit me there. So yeah, expect a lot of mushiness, food and love in this story, I'll try to stay away from the drama xD.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me… unfortunately.  
**

**Stay safe from the covid-19, everyone~**

* * *

A jade-eyed girl with a light complexion tied her rosy locks into a high bun, using the green ribbon that was a kind gift for her twenty third birthday, before she fixed her form-hugging apron around her slim curves. When she had finished sprucing herself up, she lightly skipped into the kitchen and – upon opening the wooden door leading to the kitchen – greeted its occupants chirpily.

"Good morning, everyone~!"

She was hit with a dreadful black aura, which stained the often serene environment with a great deal of negativity. The waitress made her way further into the kitchen. When she dared to crack an eye open, she shrunk away from the restaurant owner's deathly glare. The glare seemed to be honing in on the unfortunate employees that dared to meet the heated stare. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the other three chefs beg for her to ease the atmosphere around their boss so that they could finish their jobs. Sweat-dropping, she gave off her agreement. The girl carefully approached the morose-looking male as she repeated her greeting for his, as well as everyone else's, benefit.

"Earth to Naruto~ I said good morning~!"

When no response was forthcoming, she waved a hand before the male's face and managed to elicit a response from his clear cerulean eyes, which blinked and turned towards her. As his smooth and well-cut features, along with his sun-kissed skin, faced her, she felt her jealousy flare up at his perfectly tanned form. No matter how many hours she spent tanning or how much money she spent doing so, her skin could never seem to reach that degree of clarity and softness that Naruto had been blessed with from birth.

However, the waitress had to suppress her jealousy as his trademark grin was plastered onto his previously-sulking lips. With a sigh to the sudden shift in his features, Haruno Sakura listened to the heavenly voice greet back.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan. Ah, I'm sorry… I didn't see you there."

The pink-haired girl rolled her eyes at his lame apology. "Yeah, you were too busy frightening your staff to notice little old me. So, what's gotten your panties in a bunch so early in the morning?"

The white hat, which had been concealing spiked locks of burnished gold, was taken down from its perch on his head. Naruto allowed his features to twist into another frown and gave off his reason. "Well… he's here again."

It didn't take a genius to figure out who the blond was talking about and, within moments, she sighed and cast a baleful glare at the irritated male. "Just ignore him, Naruto. You can't afford to get mad every time he comes to dine."

"Look, I don't have any personal problems with the dude… but if he wants to eat in my restaurant, he'd better change that disgusted look of his! My food isn't trash that should be received with such an ungrateful expression!"

"You can't control how everyone perceives your cooking, you know. Besides, Naruto, there are a lot of customers who love it, like me, so don't allow him to get to you like this. His opinion doesn't even matter, for goodness' sake."

"Yes, it does! Every opinion matters! I make food for everyone to enjoy and take comfort in, not… not so people would eat it like they're eating a horse's dung!"

Sakura sighed and turned to gaze out the small glass window that separated the kitchen area from the dining area while Naruto seethed. In a single glance, she was able to locate the seat of the male who'd driven her boss to his wits' ends… and, as always, he was calmly dining in his accustomed spot. The sight of the females gawking at the handsome male and forgetting their dishes in the face of his ethereal beauty seemed to fit in almost seamlessly with his dignified air, which only served to drive Naruto to even greater paroxysms of irritation and anger.

The pink-haired waitress couldn't blame the girls; after all, the dude was smoking hot! He had a face that seemed to be carved by angels, and even that lofty description wasn't enough to express how beatific and divine his features were. She was sure that, if she was given the chance, she would write a poem dedicated to those dark eyes that seemed to look coolly at everything and yet reveal nothing of their owner's thoughts. His aquiline nose, which matched up well with his fine and even eyebrows, could've inspired her to sing a ballad about his beauty, and his plump lips… she could probably spend the rest of her life kissing them without feeling an ounce of wooziness.

Shivers went down her spine as she beheld the sole perfection of his features and she bit her lower lip in an attempt to keep a dreamy sigh from escaping her mouth.

Yes, she was an unashamed fangirl, just like those idiotic girls outside, who didn't mind the thought of becoming slaves to such a hottie. However, before her drool could stand a chance of leaving her mouth, which would result in her futile attempts to explain her lack of anger towards the raven haired male, Sakura jolted herself out of her nice fantasies and quickly straightened up under the chef's scrutinizing gaze.

"Sakura! Stop daydreaming about your lives together right this instant!"

Sakura sheepishly smiled, before she stuck her tongue out at being caught red-handed in her delightful reverie. "Sorry, Naruto, but c'mon~! That dude's absolutely hot! He has the most handsome face, the picture-perfect hair to go with it… and, God, that body is just beyond words!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and directed his attention to something beside the raven haired male as he grumbled complaints under his breath. "I don't see how that chicken-butt hair of his or his puny body could appeal to you… but if you want to daydream, then do it when you're not on the clock. Tables six and eleven need tending to, so go and attend to them, please."

She was about to comment on the 'puny body' comment but, since it was clear that Naruto was trying his best to forget the presence of the perpetually-revolted male and actually focus on other paying customers for a change, Sakura smiled at his determination. With a final thump on his back as a means of encouraging him to persevere, she went out to do her own job and left him to do his own.

Ever since Sakura had known Naruto, she had realized that he was incredibly fond of food. The blond used to love eating and was in a fairytale love story with every single dish he tasted, to the point where he'd stay late at his father's restaurant and watch him work. All his childhood memories seemed to revolve around him playing with a recipe his father had taught him. As far as Sakura knew, Naruto's childhood revolved around the mysteries of culinary arts.

Even when his family's restaurant was demolished right after he'd lost his parents in a tragic accident, Naruto was drawn to the empty space and would often be found sitting at its ruins, where he'd stare at the crumbling rubble for hours on end. He'd told her of his desire to become a chef in their first year of high school. Waxing on about how he wanted to revive the restaurant and seeing people's heart fill with content and happiness because of his cooking, and she had accepted his dream for the heartfelt ambition that it was.

Sakura had encouraged him every step on the way, despite the fact that it was a very hard path to walk. Naruto didn't have any superior skills or mind-blowing talent for the craft – in fact, the first meal he'd cooked for her was lousy as hell and she'd puked it out – but, even without skills or experience, Naruto managed to ace his profession. His hard-working nature, which made him seem like the most hard-working person anyone could ever meet, allowed him to sacrifice his life so that he could dedicate his energy to the art of cooking. With the combination of his inner determination and his undying will, he was able to shine.

Although misfortune befell him in the form of failed events and his initial expulsion from his culinary school, he didn't give up. Instead, Naruto continued to work in different places as he gained experience and stocked up on his culinary knowledge. Sakura had held the biggest respect for the unyielding soul of his and, as a result, she had supported him dearly in every step he took.

Eventually, when his cooking became accredited and praised, doors started to open up for him in recognition of his hard-earned skills. People came to like his meals and, by using his savings, Naruto bought a small restaurant in a cozy neighborhood that soon overflowed with the same atmosphere that his father's restaurant once had. He was finally forging his own golden path through life at the young age of twenty-five and, to be honest, she couldn't have been more proud of her gold-hearted friend and his abounding determination to succeed.

After she'd taken a rag and headed towards table six, Sakura started wiping down the table. Since she was still studying business at college, she had taken a part-time job as a waitress to earn some income on the side, so that she could help both herself and her best friend.

However, as she cleaned the table, Sakura couldn't help herself from glancing at the black-clad raven haired male – who had just finished his dish – or prevent her heart from skipping a beat. She almost fainted when their eyes locked but, when he signaled for her to come, she did so as professionally as she could… after disposing of the rag, of course, and straightening out her outfit so that she looked a little better in front of the male.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

"I'd like my check, please."

The pink-haired female nodded and went over to the register to get the bill, while the envious eyes of nearby female customers glared at her for having the privilege to talk to the sexy guy. With a great deal of pride and a slight bit of smugness, Sakura ignored them and collected the slip of paper she needed, before she offered the bill to her customer.

"There you go, sir."

The raven haired male gave the bill a cursory glance, before he withdrew his wallet. With a curt nod, he handed his money to her, before he stood up and made his way out of the cozy restaurant. Sakura wiped her drool, which had managed to leak out this time, and made her way towards the register to deposit the bill as she absentmindedly counted the money. However, when she counted an amount that was more than the appointed price, Sakura blinked in startled surprise and frowned to herself.

"Maybe he read it wrong…"

"Read what wrong?" A soothing voice asked.

Sakura glanced at the black-haired male sitting behind the register and quizzically answered him. "The customer that just walked out paid a lot more than the bill's price had asked."

"…Let me see."

She handed the slip of paper and money to the sunglasses-wearing male and waited for him to confirm her words, but she had barely handed it over when he, too, frowned slightly. "You're right."

"Told ya."

"Well, there's nothing we can do now, since he went out and there's a rather slim chance of you finding him. I suppose the best option would be to wait around until he comes again and give him his money back then."

Sakura nodded thoughtfully, before she smiled and began to turn away. "Alright, I'll go to my work now, Shino."

"Work hard."

"I always do~"

With that, the waitress known as Haruno Sakura skipped merrily to table six to continue cleaning it as more customers entered the restaurant famous for its cheerful chef and wonderful staff.

* * *

"Oh, wait a moment! Are you talking about the dude who always gives Naruto a hard time?"

Shino nodded as he changed back to his regular clothes, since his shift had finished bare minutes ago. He glanced at the male who had been doing the same shift as him and answered.

"Yes… do you know him?"

Disheveled brown hair whipped in Shino's direction as a pair of excited black eyes and a foolishly large grin, which seemed like it was about to break the face of its wearer into two, met his impassive gaze. "Yep~! He comes here for dinner every Thursday."

"I don't know if I should be thankful for you, Kiba, since you could actually memorize something in that empty head of yours, or whether I should be scared that you've evolved from a first class dog to an amateur stalker."

The male known as Kiba dressed himself, before he smacked his friend on the back. "Shut up, A-hole! I just remembered it because he's always doing it."

"Doing what?"

"Giving really lofty tips."

The taller of the two frowned and tried to get an explanation from the shorter one. "What do you mean by that? Does he always give more than the meal's worth when he pays?"

"Yeah… I followed after him the first time it happened and I tried to return the money back, but he refused to take it back. He said that what he paid was the actual worth of the meal, which was contrary to the face he made when he was eating it… but who cares when we get more money~!"

Shino smacked the stupid brunet on the back of his head as he glared levelly at him. "I take my words back; you're still a stupid mutt. In any case, when'd this start happening?"

"Hey! Stop hitting me! I'll get permanent brain damage if you continue!"

"Your brain's already damaged, so there's nothing for you to lose anyway. Now tell me, when did he start doing this?"

"Jerk. But honestly, I can't remember… it might've been two or three weeks, or maybe even a month… I dunno, man…"

"And you've been putting the extra money in the cash register, right?"

"'Course~"

Shino pulled on his jacket and sighed quietly. "Well, that explains a lot then. I've been detecting an increase in the amount of the money the restaurant produces and I'd been planning to pull an all-nighter to review everything and see where it was coming from… but now I know."

"If you'd just asked me, I'd have told you, you know."

"Don't talk, mutt. You did more than enough damage already as it is; Naruto needs to know about this and you should've informed him earlier."

Kiba scowled and sulked at his friend, who was about to rat him out to their boss when he hadn't done anything that he considered to be wrong. "Why are you telling him? There's no need; we're just making a lot of money from someone who thinks our cooking's worth it, so what's the problem?"

"Business isn't run this way, idiot. Besides, if he really thinks our cooking's such a blast, he wouldn't be eating it with such a disgusted expression."

"B-But…"

"Besides, Naruto wouldn't allow someone to do something like this in his restaurant. Prices were made to fit both the restaurant and the customers, so increasing or decreasing the price depends on us, not them. Something like this shouldn't be allowed to happen, yet you let it happen for so long. You just gave a huge blow to your boss's pride and you don't even realize it, you damn mutt."

Kiba sulked, despite the fact that the place where Shino was standing at a minute ago was empty, and puffed his cheeks as he continued dressing to start his shift. "Jeez, what's pride got to do with this? I just saved us a lot of cash… stupid Shino."

* * *

Naruto tried to wipe his dark anger from his features and concentrate on the soup he was making, which he only succeeded in doing after five failed attempts. Last night, Shino had come and told him about the extra funds that had been accepted inside his restaurant without his knowledge, and he'd given the foolish Kiba a piece of his mind. How the hell could he accept the money that was an obvious mockery to the chef?!

If that money was given from the desire to tell him how wonderful the dishes he cooks were then Naruto wouldn't have been this pissed about Kiba's acceptance… but this had been an obvious challenge and a sign of downright mockery to him. As far as he could see, the money _clearly_ spoke of his disdainful opinion for the chef, who was responsible for the dishes he'd eaten, and its scornful contribution to the chef's lacking skills so the future diners wouldn't experience nausea while eating it. Thinking about this only inflamed the angry blond more.

When his anger began to overcrowd his mind, he called one of the chefs in the kitchen and assigned the soup to him, before he pulled off his hat and went out to the dining area. Soon enough, whispers followed his entrance into the area and he was obliged to smile at the customers that had come to enjoy a nice meal in his comfy diner. After a few perfunctory conversations with some of the customers, he made his way towards Sakura, his best-friend-slash-waitress, and interrupted her with a huge sigh.

"Sakura, look… when you see that dude, come call me."

She blinked and tucked the pencil and paper inside her pocket, before she attempted to clarify his words. "That dude?"

Naruto sulked in annoyance and repeated her words. "Yes, that dude!"

"Which dude are you talking about, idiot? We have lots of dudes that come and go here, you know! And besides, you should know that I'm not some kind of psychic that can memorize their names on sight."

As he rolled his eyes at her short temper, Naruto attempted to give an explanation that would satisfy her. "It's the one I want to kill with my bare hands and bury in a place where the sun doesn't shine because he eats my food in such a horrible manner!"

When everything clicked together inside her mind, her mouth broke into a grin and she nodded in satisfaction. "There now; that wasn't so hard, was it? But sure thing, Naruto. I'll do the minu–"

She abruptly paused and turned around when the door's bells rang to indicate the arrival of another customer. In less than a second, Sakura summoned her usual working-smile on her face as she ignored Naruto's presence and greeted the customer. "Welcome~"

Sakura almost squeaked in surprise when her eyes met the fathomless black ones of the source of Naruto's agonies as he walked coolly into the restaurant. All he did was give her a fleeting nod before he sat in his accustomed seat in the diner. However, Sakura was jolted out of her surprise when the pen and paper she'd absentmindedly withdrawn from her pocket were snatched from her hands by the blond standing next to her.

"Thanks, Sakura; you can go attend to another table now, because he's mine."

Sakura blinked, while her innards upended themselves at the forbidding tone Naruto was using. Before he could move away, she grabbed onto his jacket and worriedly probed him for his intention. "What are you going to do?"

"…I'm just going to have a conversation with him, that's all."

"But Naruto, you've got to remember that you can't make a scene, okay? Remember how hard you worked to get this place? Kicking the ass of the only jerk who doesn't like your cooking won't solve a thi–"

A tan hand swiftly covered her mouth and stopped her restless warnings as its owner attempted to calm her down. "Relax, baka, I won't do anything that would harm my restaurant. I'm not that stupid and I'm not kicking anyone's ass, so you can relax. I just need to have a conversation with him."

The peculiar glint in his eyes did nothing to assure her but, since she didn't exactly have the power to stop him, Sakura removed her hands from Naruto's jacket and allowed him to make his way to the customer's table. All she could do, as she watched him leave, was silently pray that his reasoning wouldn't lose to his fiery temper.

Black orbs gazed up towards the window as a shadow flitted across the light, before its owner stared into the heated gaze of charming azure orbs. Seconds later, the lips underneath them moved in speech.

"Our special today is the Potato Soup with Garlic Cream, and it's perfect as an afternoon meal due to its high nutrient content. It also comes with a wafer of crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar cheese and thinly sliced green onions, which pack a punch of flavor into the meal. It's ready to be eaten within twenty minutes –"

"You're the chef here."

It was more of a statement than a question, but Naruto nonetheless confirmed it. "I am one of them, yes."

"And why would one of the chefs go out of his way to cater for a mere customer?"

"…We're short-staffed today. In any case, sir, what would you like to order?"

The handsome stranger rested one side of his face on his open palm as he glanced through the menu once more. "That soup you mentioned isn't here."

"Yes, our special soup hadn't been listed as of yet, since we're short-staffed… as I'd mentioned earlier."

"Aha. Well, in that case…" With eyes that shone with a spark of challenge, arrogance and smugness that rubbed Naruto in all the wrong places, the black haired customer handed the menu to Naruto and glibly requested his meal. "I'll be taking it with a glass of water, please, _chef_."

Every ounce of Naruto's being told him to smack that smirk right off the customer's irritating face with the back of the menu, but he was a professional and, thus, he resisted the urge to do so. There was no way he was going to lose the good reputation he spent his entire life creating to a simple provocation from a stinking shithole, and that was that!

So, as he gave the customer a practiced and slightly strained smile, Naruto nodded and walked back to his kitchen. He returned to the soup that he'd assigned to the other chef minutes earlier and questioned his progress, before he continued perfecting it until it was to his lofty standards. When he'd proudly poured it into the assigned dish and decorated it to his satisfaction, he sent it to his customer with one of the available waiters, while he looked out from the window in the kitchen.

He hadn't been lying when he said they were short-staffed, and it wasn't because he couldn't get people, either. Other problems included the budget and the restaurant's infancy – it had yet to reach its first anniversary– along with their experimentation with food and his handling of the everyday troubles of the restaurant, like managing the allocation of finances for bills and payment. Responsibility after responsibility were trying to put obstacles in his path and obstruct his dream, but he never lost sight of his goal. It was for this reason that…

"He can't hate this dish this time!"

However, his proud and confident mien didn't last long… for, as soon as the spoon entered the diner's mouth, the familiar dissatisfaction overtook his facial expressions again, and Naruto could not suppress his feelings for any longer. He shoved his way through the kitchen doors and stormed towards the grumpy customer's table, before he flatly asked the other the burning question on his mind, without holding back.

"Why do you hate my food?"

"…Pardon me?"

"I'm not one to brag or anything like that, but I'm really quite sure that it's not THAT disgusting!"

The raven continued to stare silently at the fuming chef without showing any emotion on his face and, when another explosion was imminent from the blond, he calmly offered an explanation.

"I can't enjoy your cooking. It just doesn't approve to my taste, that's all."

"I knew it! If that's the case, then why the hell are you here!?"

"Because people keep claiming that your cooking's good." Although the reply to his question came a lot faster than last time, Naruto gritted his teeth as his anger escalated.

"You can't just keep stuffing your face with things you find repulsive on the sole basis that other people reckon it tastes good! It's both an insult to them and to the chefs who spent all that time making your meal! If you can't enjoy it then don't eat it!"

The raven haired male looked at the other as if he'd lost his head, before he simply stated his thoughts. "That's impossible."

"No, it's not!"

"Yes, it is. When have you heard of a person living without food, hm?"

As he rolled his eyes at the question, Naruto countered his customer's statement in an equally sarcastic tone. "Well then, stop eating the type of food you don't enjoy, sir."

"Food is food, and it's necessary for my body to function. It doesn't matter if it tastes good or bad, so long as it gives me the energy I require."

Seeing as he felt like he was talking to a stubborn wall that wasn't about to budge any time soon, Naruto endeavored for another approach as he fished out an envelope from the back pocket of his jacket. "What's this then? If you think my cooking's so tasteless, what's the point in giving us more money than as listed on our menu?"

"Because it deserved it."

The blonde's mind clanked to a halt as he processed those words. He shook his head and looked back at the raven in disbelief, before he attempted to clarify his statement. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me; I gave you extra cash because your food deserved the extra cash."

It was at this moment that his temper flared to life and a prominent vein on his head popped from the sheer force of his suppressed anger. "Are you fucking with me!?"

The customer appeared to be unaffected, as if the hurricane Naruto was turning into had no sort of effect on him, and calmly explained his situation. "No, I'm not. The food here tastes disgusting, to put things bluntly. However, when I compare it to other restaurants, it tasted less disgusting than theirs. Therefore, I paid more… because, as I said before, the taste doesn't matter to me and your food, though revolting, was perfectly made and tasted less horrible than the rest. Got it?"

"…Sir, you're crazy."

The customer's black eyes rolled at his comment as he continued with his soup, as if Naruto had never voiced his opinion. "Take it the way you want; it doesn't really matter to me. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my lunch now."

Naruto sulked at the sentence but, since he had nothing nasty to say in response, he started walking back to his kitchen. However, before he was halfway towards the door, a sudden and extremely bizarre idea flared inside his head and sent him careening back to the raven's table. In fact, his customer had barely put the spoon back into his mouth, before he was jolted by hands that had appeared out of nowhere. They hit the table with a loud BAM and forced his eyes, along with some of the neighboring customers' surprised gazes, to lock onto the young chef's heaving form.

"You're going to eat my cooking for five days a week, and I'd make whatever dish you want. For every dish you eat, you're going to state what you like and hate about it. Of course, if you don't have any ideas, I'd pull something out and you need to score it. So what do you say to that, sir?"

The startled male blinked at the chef as if he'd gone straight out of his mind. "Huh?"

Naruto smugly straightened up and explained it to him. "That's the deal you'll be taking if you want to eat at my restaurant."

When he grasped the gist of Naruto's words, the raven acerbically refused his deal. "Why do you think I'd take any sort of deal with you?"

"Because you can't be satisfied with tasteless food for the rest of your life!"

"Food is energy, taste–"

"Matters! If you hate what you're eating, then eating would be more than a chore to get your energy! I just can't live with myself when I know that another person is suffering from the inability to live properly, and I'd feel even worse if I knew that I didn't help at all…"

"Look, no one's asking you for help, you know. If you're going to keep on hounding me then I'll just go to a different restaurant and eat."

"Go to another restaurant then. However, if you decide to dine somewhere else, please don't come back here again. I can't tolerate your facial expressions when you're eating my food."

"…Well then, I suppose I'll take my leave."

The raven took the coat he placed onto the chair beside him and pulled out some money from his wallet. Before he could put it on the table and pay for his meal, though, his hand was grabbed by the irritated blond.

"There's no need for you to pay for that, since you didn't eat it."

"I ordered it and took a few sips from it, so I should–"

"I said that there's no need, so there's really no need for you to pay. Now, please leave if you've got nothing else to say."

When he'd stowed the money back into his pocket, the customer walked out of the restaurant and many heads turned to watch him leave. As the restaurant settled down again, Naruto released the breath he didn't know he was holding and sighed tiredly to himself. He didn't mean to kick the other out like that; if anything, he just wanted to make his feelings clear, but…

However, before he could begin the steep descent into self-loathing, Sakura came and dragged him back to the kitchen, where she proceeded to howl at him for driving the only decent-looking customer they had in months from their restaurant. The chef only nodded in apology, thanks to his preoccupied mind, and the only thoughts he could entertain revolved around the male who had left with an empty stomach because of his harsh words.

Soon enough, a single question floated to the forefront of his brain and proceeded to nag at him for the rest of the day:

Why did it bother him so much what happens to that douche?

* * *

Three weeks had passed since that day and there were no traces of the customer who had made him feel nothing but pure anger. Naruto pulled his hair backwards and chose the ingredients he wanted to make his dinner with. He liked vegetables, precisely green and red peppers. To him, they made everything taste wonderful, be it rice, omelet, soup, or a normal steak. Since his youth, he had made it a habit to add them alongside fennel to his cooking. Of course, in the restaurant, he would only use the right amount of seasoning to perfect the dish; at home, however, he was in his own little heaven, and he enjoyed adding them without consideration to anything.

Naruto hummed as he stuffed his bag with green peppers and funnel, picking up some oregano and saffron since his stock was running low on along the way. Afterwards, he headed to the meat department and grabbed some salmon for the rice he was cooking, finishing by selecting some grapes and avocado for the sauce by the fruits. It was considered a rich meal for dinner, but he felt like eating some salmon with fresh basil alongside a spicy avocado and grape sauce. His desire for food was too great to be ignored, after all.

Finished with his shopping, he made his way to the cashier and waited until his turn came about. Three minutes later and with a smile painted upon his face, he was given his purchase as the cashier bowed to him and asked that he come again. In response, Naruto gave a small bow of his own and walked out of the supermarket. His apartment was about half an hour away by foot and, as the night's cold air hit his face, he pulled his jersey closer towards himself and continued onward.

A silly smile came to his lips in anticipation of the dish he was going to make and stupidly he began jogging while paying extra attention not to damage the ingredients he was carrying. Yet, before he could even reach half the distance, drops of early rain fell on his face and he blinked. Telling himself that there was no way it was going to rain that minute – with the weather report coming off rather cold and humid with no signs of a downpour – Naruto dismissed the drops as fleeting misgivings and paid them no heed.

However, with the next step he took, his vision blurred and the street before him was clouded with a heavy shower. He wasn't even given enough time to absorb what had happened when the storm hit. The blond chef blinked the abruptness away. Gritting his teeth, he broke into a sprint complete with curses that dripped from his wet lips.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! SHIT!"

He was lucky to find shelter under a tree just before he was drenched to the bone. Naruto caught his breath and checked his ingredients, his face brightening upon finding them intact. His fishes were still fresh as were his vegetables, fruits and seasonings. Pulling the carton bag closer to his body, he took off his jersey and wrapped it around the bag. A chill ran down his torso at the cold air, and the chef released a sudden sneeze at the sensation.

Now… what was he going to do?

There were three choices available to him. Option A, his house was about twenty minutes' walk, fifteen if he were to hustle. He could go there, but the risk of catching a cold was great, and he needed to work tomorrow. So, he put a lid on that choice and moved onto the next. Option B was to call someone to come pick him up; yet, upon feeling for his cell phone and finding himself unable to locate it, Naruto came to the unfortunate conclusion that he had left it at home. Thus, option B was a bust as well. Naruto sighed as the last reasonable choice blazed in his head; it was either that or risk pneumonia in this storm. When another sneeze left his nose, the blond had made his decision and went with his last option:

He ran the short distance back to the supermarket in the hopes of securing an umbrella.

About half way there, his body began giving up on him. He wasn't giving his lungs enough oxygen since he was running without inhaling enough; on top of that, his vision was blurred by the vicious drops that sealed his surroundings from him, adding stress to the weird way in which he ran in an attempt to prevent rain from reaching his ingredients. It was no surprise, then, that his legs began slowing on him; before long, he was forced to succumb to a walking pace.

Continuing to curse the weatherman who hadn't mentioned anything about a damn rainstorm hitting, he walked against the wind. A fleeting thought about putting his bag in a secure place and retrieving it when the sky cleared up came to his mind, but he dismissed it in the next minute and hit himself mentally for thinking such a thing. Without warning, a car pulled in front of him, and Naruto had to take two steps backwards to avoid having it crash right into him.

Feeling anger building at the stupid driver who almost murdered him before he got to make his infamous salmon rice, Naruto used all of his power to hit the hood of the car as he glared at the driver. He was still unable to see straight due to the rain.

The front lights of the black Benz flicked on him, blinding him even further as the car was adjusted so that he faced the passenger's door. The door was slowly opened and his words hung in the back of his throat at the appearance of the customer who had turned his life upside down with his psychological problems against food.

Naruto felt the resentment he had for the raven haired male and the anger at being nearly run over hit him at full blast.

"Can't you fucking see where you're driving, asshole?!"

Cool, coal colored eyes looked at him as if he hadn't uttered a word; his presence was acknowledged with simple ease. "Get in."

Blond brows furrowed in confusion when the words finally sank in. "Why the fuck would I get in with a person who was about to murder me let alone I don't even know!?"

"…I wasn't going to kill you, I just miscalculated the spin and my name's Uchiha Sasuke, so we're no longer strangers. Now, get in."

"Humph, still not good enough of a reason. Why are you here anyway?"

The raven haired male who identified himself as Sasuke rolled his eyes and threw out the cigarette he was smoking. "I'm offering your ass a drive and you should shut that trap of yours and just accept it. Or do you want to stay here in the rain and die off the next day with a fever? I don't care either way."

Naruto looked at the male who was – weirdly enough – giving him a helping hand. All his senses screamed that he shouldn't get into that glittering car, that he should walk away and resume his plan. However, looking at the bag he was protecting, he knew he wouldn't make it in time to prevent his fishes from spoiling. Thus, with a reluctant gaze, he got inside the fancy car and closed the door behind him.

"Good choice."

"Shut up, I didn't do it because you asked."

"Whatever."

Naruto rolled his eyes and pulled the wet jersey away from his bag to check his ingredients, another relieved smile crossing his features when he saw that his purchases were safely protected.

"Where's your house?"

His attention was robbed away from his ingredients and back to the male beside him. He answered with a sigh. "When you reach the end of this street, take your right and then after three blocks, your left."

"Hn."

The raven haired male continued driving, the road plan imprinted inside his head. Nonetheless, Naruto couldn't stop from asking: "Why are you helping me, anyway?"

"…"

"Do you live around here? Did you happen to see me when I was running and thought _'oh, look! That's the bastard of a chef who kicked me out of his restaurant. Ahhh… I need to help him before he gets hit by the storm?'_ "

His sarcastic tone was met with a sharp turn that had Naruto buckle the seatbelt he had forgotten. A smirk formed on those rosy, nicotine tinged lips as their owner responded.

"I don't live around here, yet I had some work in the area and happened to see you. What I thought though was, _'I wonder if I left him here, would he die_ '?"

The chef couldn't help rolling his eyes at remark as a sneeze broke free from his lips. He tried to act tough, but the driver saw right through him and turned the heat inside the car up. Naruto hated the small gesture and, in an attempt to cover up the awkwardness he felt inside, made a bashful retreat.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny, jerk. I wouldn't die even if you killed me."

"A very interesting theory, care to try it?"

"Of course, but you have to go first."

"It's your theory; you should be the one to try it out."

Naruto frowned and pulled his bag close. "You've got a really nasty personality."

"Says the one who can't fathom a _'thank you'_ to the one who'd saved his ass from a damn storm."

"…Touchy, aren't we?"

"Hn."

Swiftly and rather acutely too, the car stopped before a humble looking building. Naruto grinned at the sight of his home and answered the question the dark eyebrow, still raised, was asking of him.

"Yes, this is my apartment. Though shabby and almost on the brick of falling over, it's mine and I'm proud of it."

"No one said anything."

"Yeah right."

Clutching his bag of groceries and putting his jacket above his head as protection until he reached the pavement of the two floor building, Naruto opened the door and stepped out. He took his bag with him and, before he closed the door, gave Sasuke a huge, bright grin. "Thank you for the ride, Ass~"

He closed the door and hurried out up to his apartment. Searching his pants for his keys, Naruto felt a presence approaching from behind and, just when he was about to turn Kung Fu on the potential thief lurking behind him, a deep tone made him blink in obvious surprise.

"…You dropped these." Pale fingers wriggled a set of keys towards his face. Breaking free from the trance he was in, Naruto snatched the keys from the surprisingly tall man. "You're a very forgetful person."

The blond tried to look past the embarrassment his actions had provided for him, turning his back to the male who'd helped him twice in less than half an hour. "Well, I guess I owe you another thank you then."

"I'd rather a meal than a thank you."

His ears stung after the sentence and Naruto directed his widened eyes at Sasuke. His astonishment, however, was quick to turn into a scowl as he spat aloud: "You sure you want to eat my filth?"

"…I told you, I don't enjoy food. That doesn't mean it's filth."

"When you keep eating as if it is, then it is. And no. I'd rather 'thank you' a million times than be subjected to seeing your disgusted face with my food in your mouth."

With that Naruto opened his door and walked inside. However, just when he was about to close it shut before the raven haired male's face, a pale hand reached out to hold it in place. His forgotten rage resurfaced at the action.

"Let go!"

"…"

"I told you to let go or I'll slam it on your fingers!"

The threat was obviously fake; Naruto knew he couldn't do it, for he was one to appreciate hands above all else. But the other man didn't know that. The blond held strong to that notion, hoping that the one who'd rattled him for close to a month would disappear from his doorstep. Unfortunately, his demands had long since been ignored.

"…I CAN'T EAT!"

Naruto blinked at the sudden shout. It took his brain a few moments to process the words, but when it did, his brows furrowed. "…What?"

"I can't eat." Sasuke repeated himself in a composed tone. "Since I left your restaurant, I can't eat in any other place… everything tastes like shit."

"I thought everything always tasted like shit with you."

"Yes, that's true. But… it's like it gotten shit-ier, if possible."

"That's not even an adjective."

"…"

Sighing when he heard a thud on his door, Naruto loosened his grip on the wood and cracked the entryway open. He found the handsome male with his head banged against the wood. The suit he was wearing was drenched alongside his hair, and his pale complexion and dark orbs shone brightly in the dreary background. The talented chef was certain that, if Sakura had been near, she'd have died of a fangirl overdose on part of the male's unfathomable handsomeness. But she wasn't here, and this was him; the only thing that appearance did to him was cause his insides to cringe in jealousy.

Still, he maintained his initial annoyed expression, facing the black eyed beauty as he spoke. "So? What do you expect me to do about it? You already established that my food isn't to your liking."

"…No," Sasuke disagreed with a slight shake of his head. "I didn't say that. I said it tastes less horrible."

"Which means you don't like it."

"The lesser of two evils."

"You _don't_ like it." Naruto insisted, stubborn as ever.

"…"

"Now," Trying to stave his nerves in the face of the stubborn mule he was conversing with, the blue eyed male asked again: "What do you want me to do?"

Sasuke cast his eyes downwards, as if searching for the right answer to his question. They wandered everywhere – to the ground, to the pot of flowers beside Naruto's neighbor's door, to the drenched balcony – before he was able to formulate the appropriate words and look Naruto straight in the eyes.

"Cook for me! I have no other choice. Besides yours, I can't stomach anything. If I continue like this, I'd surely die. I didn't realize this but these past weeks, everything I eat I either throw up or force it down my stomach with medications, my body needs your cooking to survive."

Naruto looked the raven haired male up and down. It was apparent that he'd lost some weight since his last visit to the restaurant and, though he didn't like it, his heart was already being swayed by his condition. The individual before him didn't appear all that needy; in fact, he seemed smug and stuck-up. If someone were to pass them by, there was no way he or she would stop to think that he was asking a favor of Naruto. However, as a chef, the blond couldn't turn his back on someone asking for his food. It didn't matter how much he disliked the other person. The decision to help was made, but that didn't mean that Naruto wouldn't exact some revenge on behalf of his food.

With a devilish smile, he flat out rejected the Uchiha's request. "My heart only extends so far, baaaaka, so I refuse. Find another person to be your mockery."

Sasuke bit his lower lip and frowned. "I didn't want to do this since it's not my style, but you're forcing me to it."

Now, Naruto raised a golden brow at this, already expecting the worst. "What, pretty boy? You're going to fight me on this?" His legs automatically took on a fighting pose. "Because I warn you, I may not look it, but I have a black belt in karate, so you better not."

"I'm blackmailing you!"

Naruto blinked at the unexpected reply and his fighting pose gave in. "…Huh?"

"I just drove you home and saved you from a storm. You have to repay me with food!"

"Wha…?"

"You're stupid, aren't you?" The raven said with furrowed brows. "I just said it, if you don't repay me –"

"You're the stupid one here, what will you do if I don't? Tell the world you've saved my ass?"

By now, small tears were forming in the corner of Naruto's eyes from stifling his laughter. When the determined face of his blackmailer gave way to thinking features that swiftly turned to sulking in the face of a problem with no solution, the blond couldn't stop his laughter. It broke free like a ragging hurricane, and he had to support himself to keep from falling.

Pale cheeks colored with faint red, Sasuke stuttered. "S-Shut up! I haven't thought that far yet!"

"Hahaha… and what would you have done if you did? Hahahah… seriously, you're one amusing guy!" Drying the tears that left his eyes, Naruto put one hand on the raven haired male's shoulder and tapped it. "Alright! Since you're not the jerk I assumed you to be, and you did give me a much needed laugh, I'll be generous enough and whip you something to eat."

The sulking face turned slowly into the passive mask Sasuke had had from the first moment he met the young chef and, to show Naruto he was glad he'd agreed, he nodded.

Detecting the nod and deciding that he'd gotten his share of revenge, Naruto gave his intruding visitor a grin.

"Now, c'min and close the door behind you."

The handsome one followed the instructions and watched as the chef picked the bag of ingredients off the floor and hummed his way inside. Feeling no need to stay beside the door, the Uchiha pulled his monks off and used the crocs that were placed beside the door to waltz within the abode.

The interior of the apartment wasn't all that different from the outside, but it was neat. He could detect the age of the walls and the sparsity of the furniture the blond owned; yet, somehow, the place felt cozy and warm. He continued further and at the sight of the high-tech kitchen amidst the rundown apartment, surprise took him over. It didn't fit. Everything around it was ancient and old, but the kitchen was new and modern. It made Sasuke feel as if it'd been robbed out of a magazine and glued into this pathetic hellhole the chef called a house.

Naruto was nowhere to be seen, but the bag of ingredients had been placed on the counter. Not knowing what to do, Sasuke continued standing and examined the place with an eye of uncertainty about the surroundings. It was then that the blond came in the kitchen, his damp clothes replaced with new ones and a grey towel hugging his neck. Not a second later, Naruto was performing his magic, arranging everything from within the bag where it belonged. Sasuke was done examining everything by then and, though the apartment was small and old, found it welcoming, just like the restaurant. He realized that he didn't hate it.

"Why are you eyeing my home like that?" The sizzling sound of onion being added to hot oil filled his ears as the blond spoke. "If you don't like it, you can just leave."

"I didn't say anything."

"But you think it's old and would fall over in any given second. Seriously, you need to try and change those expressions of yours."

"My expressions are fine the way they are." Sasuke chose to reply in a way that wouldn't cost him his meal, knowing he would only regret it later if he did.

"No, they aren't." The blond turned back to his dish and started cutting the carrots. "The way it only turns when you're experiencing disgust or satisfaction isn't appealing, learn to smile."

There was no answer, so Naruto glanced backwards to see what his unexpected guest was doing. He rolled his eyes when he saw him messing with the remote to open the TV. True, his set was as old as Rome, but God! It wasn't like it was all that old… just from the era when flat screens were nothing but a myth.

So, washing his hands, he went over to the set and opened it, coughing in the meanwhile with faint, embarrassed features. "This's how you open it."

"…I think you need to be introduced to technology."

"S-Shut up! I like it the way it is. Anyways, I haven't watched it in a long time, so I'm not sure what type of programs they have on –"

"Oh, I wasn't planning on watching, so don't worry about it." The raven haired male interrupted him without issue.

Naruto blinked. "Then why did you want me to open it?"

"I didn't want you to open anything, I was checking out the remote and you interfered and opened it yourself."

"Well yeah," Naruto said, a puzzled look caught on his face. "But why would you go inspect a normal remote control if you don't want to watch TV? That just doesn't make sense."

"I just didn't want to listen to you blabbering about my expressions, okay? Now, go back to cooking, I'm starving."

Scowling, Naruto sent a kick at the rude male. "You know, for a person who's practically begging for a meal, your lips sure spurt venom."

Sasuke returned his expression with a smirk, leaning against the couch's arm. "My lips always spurt venom; it's the way I live."

"And it'll be the way you die."

"No, I'd die of starvation because you're choosing to move your mouth instead of your hands."

Naruto didn't blame himself when his hand slipped unintentionally and a flying spatula found its way, along with some stray drops of sauce, into silky, black locks.

* * *

"I really don't see why you need to stay the night because of something as trivial as this."

Pouting at the idea Sasuke had provided after his hair and the upper parts of his suit were doused in sauce, Naruto placed three dishes on the table and sat on the ground.

"My suit's ruined."

"You have a car, you can just go home. No wait, you _should_ go home. It's eleven at night, you were going home."

Sasuke used the towel to dry his hair as he sat down on the opposite side of the blond. "I wasn't actually, and it's your fault my clothes got dirty, it's only fair that you should clean your own mess."

"Well, if you weren't such an annoying jerk, that wouldn't have happened."

The raven haired male rolled his eyes and took hold of the chopsticks. He began devouring the dishes shortly thereafter, not giving a second thought to what they were, and Naruto furrowed his brows in response. He had to suppress the blow to his ego as he watched the dishes he'd spent two hours on being shoved into the dark hole of the male's mouth, not so much as a minute spared to savor the flavor. Unable to hold his tongue any further, the blond decided to explain in detail the food he'd prepared.

"Sticky rice with tomato purée, curry powder, honey, soy and cornflower brazed with sesame oil, salt and pepper, which made the sauce. Even though dinner should be something light and easy on the stomach, you made it clear you want energy, so I made you these spicy bean tostadas with pickled onions and radish salad, and… hey, you! Are you even listening to me?"

Sasuke stopped mid-stuffing to blink. "Hmm… wistening."

"Dear God! At least swallow first!"

After doing just that, the raven haired male repeated his words. "Yes, listening."

"You sure don't look like it," he finished with a scowl on his face.

"I'm eating it, aren't I? What more do you want?"

"You to make me feel like you liked it."

Sasuke put down the chopsticks and the bowl with a sigh. "I already told you… I can't taste food. You should stop trying to make me taste it, it won't work."

"No one's trying to make you do anything," The chef stood and started making his way to the bathroom. "Anyways, I'm going to take a bath, I didn't take one the minute I walked in – though I was drenched – because your ass was about to die of hunger, so don't you dare think about robbing me!"

"Don't worry, even if I wanted to, there's nothing here for me to rob."

"Good."

With that, Naruto took a change of clothes and went off to his bathroom. Once inside, he turned on the water and allowed his tub to fill, taking the time to discard his clothes and rub some soap onto his body. By that time, the tub was filled with lukewarm water, water that allowed his blood vessels to open and the tension to dilate out of them. Cracking his neck, he craned his head backwards and took three deep breaths, allowing the tiredness to be withered away from him.

Then he sighed.

What the hell was he doing? Allowing a perfect stranger inside his home, his _castle_ , the place that Sakura was only allowed inside after three whole months of constant begging – the place he called his own. Why would he allow a person with such a bad personality inside? No, wait. It wasn't a completely unpleasant temperament; rather, it felt as though the raven haired male was missing out on life… like he had been shut inside a damn hole where he was unable to interact with humans and thus lacked the proper way to interact.

Yes, lack of manners. That was it was. Or, more precisely, lack of emotions.

Naruto ran a hand through his locks and took a small dip in the water. He emerged seconds later when his ears picked up on a loud thud - a loud thud that traversed the distance of his living room, past the bathroom's door, through the water and to his ears. Wrinkling his brows at what might have happened; he quickly emerged from his tub and wrapped a towel around his waist. With a scowl that belayed his annoyance at being interrupted from the bath he was longing for, he left the bathroom.

"What the hell did you do?"

The scene before him unfolded as the words left his mouth. His annoyance turned into amusement in a matter of seconds, laughter escaping his mouth like a drunkard's music for the second time that night. There, on his bed, lay a rather shocked Sasuke. His middle section had begun sinking under into his bed while his torso and legs hung high on the mattress. It seemed as though a hole had formed the minute he lay down, sucking his stomach in with no preamble.

Sasuke blinked and used his hands in an attempt to push himself up and escape the unexpected mess. While maintaining a grip so as to refrain from sinking again or causing another abnormal accident, he bounced to his feet and looked at the blond with a look of utter confusion.

Naruto paused in his laughter and went over to his bed. He removed the mattress and exposed three, long boards of wood. The middle one was broken in half and on the ground, whilst the two other remained intact.

"You broke it."

"…"

"But don't worry about it; I was planning on changing it anyways,"

The dark eyed male blinked, ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath, before looking Naruto right in the eyes. It was only a moment before he exploded. " _JUST WHAT FREAKING CENTRY DO YOU LIVE IN?!_ You live in rundown apartment even through you own a decent restaurant! you have old TV set even though you earn enough to buy new one! And now, your bed is of such poor quality that only lying for a second would render the wood broken!? Seriously!"

The chef rolled his eyes. "Now look here, just because I own a restaurant doesn't mean I'm made of money. I take from my earnings what I need. I don't need a fancy place since this apartment is just fine. I don't need a fancy TV set, since I don't even watch TV all that much. And for the bed, I told you, I was planning on replacing it… if you'd just sat on the place I left you at, this wouldn't have happened."

Black eyes looked at him then flitted back to the bed; they traversed the room, the high-tech kitchen, and Sasuke sighed. "I think I'll go home after all."

"Now that you'd broken my bed and eaten my food you want to run?"

"Didn't you want me to leave from the very beginning? I'm just honoring your wish."

"Hn. It doesn't matter any way to me, do whatever you want. But please, don't make it a habit to come crash and eat."

"If it's money –"

"And don't you dare insult me with something like that!" Naruto warned with a finger to Sasuke's face.

Sasuke frowned. "I don't get you. You don't like me –"

"That's it. I don't like you." The blond rudely interrupted the male before he could enter into another discussion when his head throbbed, and walked towards his front door. "Now, if you want to leave, be my guest."

With that, he opened the door, and, before Sasuke could react, a strong gush of wind and rain hit Naruto. He had to struggle to lock his door again before the interior dripped with water. Looking at his wet rug and the mess his front hall was in, he sighed at the doom.

"I guess I'm staying the night then." Sasuke's remark made him cringe.

"…Yeah, as much as I dislike you right now, I can't let you go home when it's this bad. Anyways," Returning to the warmth of his living room, Naruto went to his closet to retrieve two futons. After moving his coffee table, he laid them out on the ground. "You don't have any problems sleeping on this, do you?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No."

"Then I guess I don't."

"Great, I'm going to continue my bath now." Before departing back to the bathroom, Naruto fixed him with a skeptical gaze. "Please, try not to wreck another thing as I'm a way."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and sat on the futon. "I'm not a child."

"…I highly doubt that."

From the corner of his eyes, Sasuke watched the blond head to the bathroom and brought one of the pillows discarded on the side of the bed to put it under his head. Heaving a sigh, his mind began wondering; here he was, inside the house of the stranger that was always coming to his mind… No, not the person, but the taste. The taste his buds disliked. Try as he might, he couldn't stop thinking of that taste and the one who'd created it.

The human who got so angry that he'd kicked him out of his restaurant simply because he refused to enjoy the food. It'd never happened to him before – it was a first of its kind, a novel experience, and that's what Sasuke perceived as the reason behind his taking note of the taste. Yet, he had been fascinated by the taste long before the blond had kicked him out. So the question now was… why?

Since his youth, he had only consumed food in order to function. He knew perfectly well that energy was needed to lead on a normal life, so he ate. Not once had he stopped to memorize the flavor or the taste; it just didn't matter. At least, it hadn't mattered until he reached this degree of hatred - this degree of hatred in which he forced himself to ingest food for no other reason than survival. Sasuke knew his psychological problem would need to be addressed at some point in the future, but he'd never cared to make the effort.

The operative word was "future", after all. Not now, not two hours from now or the next day; but the _future_. And, if luck was on his side, the distant one at that.

With that thought to finalize his train of judgments, Sasuke's eyes wandered the small apartment when a pajama-clad blond emerged from the bathroom, drying his locks with a towel that was soon discarded in a nearby basket. Silently, he followed him with his black orbs as he took hold of the empty dishes and placed them in the sink to wash them. Not a word was exchanged between them, and Naruto scooped himself something from the fridge before bringing it to his futon – placed beside his own with a distance of two to four centimeters separating them due to the small size of the apartment – to begin his own meal.

"Didn't you have dinner?"

"Obviously not. With you demanding I make you food, I forgot to feed my own self."

"I still don't get you."

"That makes us two."

Naruto started eating after that and Sasuke stayed silent, watching as the blond ate. The chef could detect the black orbs boring holes into him and decided to act as if nothing was happening while he enjoyed his blissful dinner. When he finished, he washed his dishes, cleaned his kitchen and switched off the lights in the room. Stepping into the living room, he paused.

"I'm switching off the lights now; do you need anything before I do?"

"No."

Naruto offed them and grabbed two thick blankets before lying on his futon. He placed one over himself whilst throwing the other Sasuke's way. "G'night."

"…You're going to sleep? It's still twelve thirty."

"It's not _'still'_ , it's _'twelve thirty_ '. I don't know about you, but I have a business I'm running, and I need to be awake by seven to prepare, so I have to sleep now."

"Does that mean I should expect an early rise tomorrow?"

"That you should do."

"Hn."

Naruto flopped onto his right side and started drifting off to sleep; yet, before his consciousness could fully withdraw from him, a sound so calm and serene floated to his ears with a question that – for a reason beyond him – made him tingle.

"Hey… what's your name?"

He felt a desire to turn around and bash the male for intruding this far and not even knowing his name. However, he was too drained to start a fight this instant, so discarding logic and Sasuke's lack of proper etiquette, he softly answered.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hmm… Naruto… a very unique name indeed."

Naruto had his back to the other so he didn't know what kind of face Sasuke was making, but if there was one thing he knew for sure, it was that his heart skipped a beat with the words.

"My dad and mum," he found himself gently talking without realizing he was doing so, "they liked this novel. It was written by my grandpa. The hero's name was Naruto, and my grandpa had real pride in that hero, since that novel was the masterpiece of his life. So, when I was born, out of their desire to honor my grandpa and, at the same time, have me receive one of the many wonderful traits that _Naruto_ had, they named me 'Naruto'."

"Hmm… and that's the reason why you wanted to be a chef?"

The blond paused before answering, contemplating whether to truthfully answer or evade with a smartass reply as was customary of him. He closed his eyes and felt no malice, hatred, or any other strong, dark emotion to be feared, nothing to give him cause to raise his guard and not speak his mind. So, with the notion that this total stranger might not be all that bad, he chose to answer honestly.

"…No, I love food and was always perplexed with the way small ingredients would create a dish that would lighten up someone's soul or bring a smile upon a sour day. It's an honor to be able to create that dish, and that's why I became a chef."

"Because you wanted to make people feel good."

"And make myself feel good. Food isn't just about energy that supplies us – it's more than that. It's the soul, the spirit and the essence in which we are brought from. When you eat, you fill yourself up and your behavior turns, especially when you eat something you like. You become happy and rejoice. That's why I enjoy making food; I enjoy the smiles and the happiness."

Sasuke paused a bit, thinking whether he should ask his next enquiry or refrain, but believing that such things are better put on the open, he tenderly questioned. "Is that why you were upset with the way I ate?"

"Yes." Naruto affirmed with no hesitation. "Any chef would see it as an insult that his food was perceived with such a result. Something that he or she had spent time on was being eaten with such abhorrence, if not anger, it'd be sadness that would control them. Therefore, Uchiha-san, I don't want you to ever eat while looking disgusted or on the verge of vomiting."

"… _'Sasuke'_ is fine."

"But we don't know each other and dropping honorifics on first meeting is a bit…"

"I don't care if you want me to call you 'Uzumaki-san', but for me, it feels wrong." Sasuke spoke with a tone that told Naruto of how sincere he was being. "If you're calling me or addressing me, _'Sasuke'_ is best."

The blond felt something inside of him warm at the words and he allowed his lips to conceal a smile. "Fine… Sasuke it is, and you should call me Naruto, too. It won't be right if I was the only one allowed to trespass."

"Alright. So Naruto," the raven haired male tested the name on his tongue, causing the chef to flinch in response, "It's not really like that; not like I strive to find the food extra disgusting to rail the chefs or anything of that sort."

Unable to hold the conversation with his back to Sasuke, Naruto turned on his other side so he'd be able to look the male directly in the eyes. "It's what then?"

Sasuke's eyes moved from the ceiling to lock onto azure ones. Nothing came out of his mouth, but Naruto could sense the reluctance, dissatisfaction – and some… anger? – boiling inside of him. In the dim apartment, only the haze of the illuminated lights coming from outside sharpened Sasuke's surroundings and Naruto's silhouette. He turned his eyes away and answered after a much awaited silence.

"Is that offer of yours still on the table?"

"…Offer?"

"You said I can eat your cooking for five days a week. You'd make me whatever dish I want and in every dish, I'd state what I like and hate about it. And if I don't have any ideas, you'd pull something out and I need to score it. That offer."

Naruto nodded as his words were repeated to his face, bit by bit. "Do you always memorize conversations with others?"

"Only ones that really matter."

"So… my offer mattered?" Naruto asked, his mouth already relaxing with another smile.

"Not the offer itself, but the energy and the vibe behind it. It's been a while since I heard something that was so… _vivid_."

The chef scowled at the choice of words. "Although I don't really get what you're saying, if you want that offer, I'm willing to do it. However, this time, I can't take it to your house, you'll have to come to the restaurant and eat it."

"Your initial offer didn't include my place to begin with."

"Really? Well, then I must've thought it but didn't say. Anyway, if you agree, I don't mind cooking for you."

Sasuke sat upright and extended his hand. When the blond only blinked at it, he explained: "This is a business agreement; we need to shake on it."

Rolling his eyes at the gesture, Naruto grasped his hand. "I don't really like to think of it as such because I'm only feeding you, but if you want to, then so be it."

Then they shook hands. Naruto firmly held the pale one in his and Sasuke did the same. The heat that was generated with the friction seemed to worm its way towards their cold fingers and warm them. Naruto felt a soft smile replace Sasuke's expression and, softly, he allowed Sasuke's hand to slip out of his grip, after which he looked the raven haired male in the face with a grin.

"Tomorrow morning, you go home, freshen up then come to my restaurant for lunch, 'kay?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Good. Now, let's sleep, we have a long day to go tomorrow~!"

With those as his finalizing words, Naruto slipped inside his blanket and closed his eyes. The storm that had attacked him hours ago had dulled to simple, soft drops of rain that added to the soothing background, and, before neither of them knew it, sleep had descended onto their tired forms, lulling them to dreamland where anything and everything was possible.

* * *

**Thank you all for reading so far, stay tuned for chapter two. Do comment please; I'd love to get some feedback from you.**


	2. Chapter 2

“It's unsettling."

"What is?"

"You."

"Me?" The blond chef echoed.

"You being this happy, it's unsettling and annoying." the pink-haired waitress frowned. "What the hell happened to you yesterday?"

Sakura placed the dishes on the sink and, waited for one of the part-timers to come and clean them. She'd noticed from the moment Naruto had walked in whistling that morning, that something good had happened. But, as it only made the blond work unremittingly, she kept her mouth shut and didn't question his actions for the rest of the day. Nevertheless, as her shift neared its end and the toll of his bright attitude wore on her, she couldn't silence her annoyance any longer.

"Nothing happened, I'm my normal self."

Having him lie right through his teeth did nothing to extinguish her newly found irritation. "If you don't want to spill, don't. Just stop emitting those goddamn rays! They're giving me the creeps!"

Naruto blinked innocently at his best friend. "What rays?"

"Those! Those freaking rays! The gleeful rays you've been emitting ever since you stepped into the kitchen!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Sakura-chan, stop being foolish, I'm like this every day. Now, run along and serve the tables, there's no need keeping them waiting~"

Lifting her nose in disgust at him, an irritated Sakura turned her head, ponytail following the action, and walked out of the kitchen. In her wake, the blond was left to his amusement.

Naruto quickly put the finishing touches on the dishes he'd prepared and hummed to himself. That morning, as Sasuke was forced to get up and get out, the dark haired male had voiced to the blond his desire to dine on something creamy, something creamy yet light. So, searching through the mountains of recipes in his head and taking into consideration the right nutrition Sasuke needed, he'd decided on a course of beef stroganoff with pasta. It was a dish that was made popular during the cold seasons in Europe, one of his teachers in culinary school was very fond of it. It seemed like the perfect meal to start their agreement with.

Just as he finished humming his song, the front door to his restaurant jingled in announcement of a customer. Naruto spared a look from his little window, vibrant gaze landed on a tired-looking Sasuke as he stumbled his way inside. As always, he caught the eyes of every female customer present in the eatery.

Soon after Sasuke's arrival, Sakura waltzed into the kitchen with furrowed brows and hesitantly started with a somewhat panicked look in her eyes. "…Umm… Naruto, look you may not like this… but remember the guy you kicked out that day? The handsome man who eats your food with dislike, remember him?" She avoided any usage of harmful words as not to infuriate the blond out of his merry mood, then continued. "Well, he's back and he wants –"

"It's alright, Sakura," He interrupted her before she could finish, then pushed the neatly made plate into her hands. "Take this to him."

Blinking in puzzlement at the lack of any sort of flame she'd expected, a dumbfounded Sakura inquired. "…Huh?"

"Take the plate to him, it's his lunch. Hurry up; its better served warm and tell him _'welcome'_."

Still not over her bewilderment, but deciding to do her work for now and probe later, Sakura walked out into the dining hall. With her usual charming smile that made most of the men she'd dated abide to her every wish, the pink-haired waitress presented the food.

"Here you go, sir, our chef sends you his complements."

"Hmm… what is this dish called?"

"Beef stroganoff, sir, with pasta."

"Well then, let's eat."

"Enjoy your meal."

Sakura took her cue to leave after that, she was about to head straight to the kitchen when another table she was responsible for called on her. Sakura deviated with a smile and went to them, putting a note to inquire later about the odd behavior both the customer who was kicked and the chef who did the kicking were demonstrating.

Naruto kept his face firmly attached to the other's – from the small kitchen window that peered onto the dining hall – and watched. Two seconds later, his enthusiasm and joy all evaporated to a long, disappointed sigh. Sasuke's face twisted into the original features he continuously displayed upon dining, eating as if he was crunching shards of hard glass between his teeth, which pained Naruto to observe happen. The blond shook his head and decided to focus on his other customers for now, since the world didn't stop turning simply because his first try didn't impress Sasuke. He knew it wasn't going to be easy and when he'd shaken that hand, he'd made an obligation that he'd see this thing through to the end.

_No matter what!_

Two hours later, he'd finished everything and his three last customers were waving for him goodbye, Naruto grinned and waved back. He looked around him and spotted Shino closing up the restaurant. It was Sunday, which meant they were having the evening off. It was a rule made especially for Kiba; because he needed to have Sundays' off. Naruto was the one who'd proposed it for his employees. Originally Kiba was the reason, but since it was hard enough to employ another to take his shift, as his restaurant was already making ends meet, and working without a register was impossible, he'd decided to give his whole staff the night off. Hence, the restaurant didn't operate on Sundays' nights.

Naruto walked to his closet and switched to his casual clothes, before he went up to Shino and said. "You can go early today; I'll handle the rest."

"Are you sure?"

With a bright smile, he urged the latter. "Yes. You need to go with Kiba, right? He's been waiting for you for a while now, so don't make wait any longer."

"But there's still a lot –"

"Don't worry about it, you always close up, it won't hurt me to do it sometimes."

The quiet male gave a thankful nod and bowed his way out. "Okay then, thank you, boss!"

Naruto brushed the thanks off and went to make sure everything was done. He checked the gas and finished inspecting every corner to make sure it was firmly locked, then finally turned off the lights on the restaurant and headed towards the main door to lock it, before pulling down the iron door and sealing it firmly.

"It was good."

The young chef was about to jump out of his skin, and lose one of his nonexistent nine lives at the low tone which echoed behind him. He turned clutching his jumpy heart and sighed at the blank looking Uchiha. "Jesus, Sasuke! You scared the shit out of me! Don't do that ever again!"

"…You're too tense." Sasuke simply rolled his eyes.

Naruto sent a fierce glare the other's way and countered. "I'm not and it wasn't good, I saw your expression, you don't need to sugarcoat it. Still," the blond quickly added before Sasuke could cut in, "I'm not upset about it, it's a minor setback and I really didn't expect the first try to work just because I wanted it to."

"I thought you'd be mad."

"I'm a realistic person, I know how things work." Naruto shrugged it off, then continued. "So? What was good and what was bad about it?"

Pulling the jacket he was wearing off, Sasuke unbuttoned three of his shirt's buttons to breathe some fresh air. "Good was: the flavors blended in nicely, it was warm and flowed right inside my mouth and the meat was juicy and soft. Bad was: couldn't taste anything really, the flavors were too strong, there were a lot of diversities in the type of meat that it was hard to focus on what to taste and what not to taste, and finally, it just didn't taste all that good to my palate."

Naruto put the keys in his pocket and started walking. "Well, this is good. I know now that you don't like lots of flavors in a dish, not a meat fan either and don't like – yeah! The pasta! You didn't mention it. What did you think of the pasta?"

Sasuke frowned. "Doesn't forgetting it say a lot? It was too plain to me to notice it. With the meat and the cream, it was hardly there."

"Yeah… I guess their flavors overpowered it." The chef dejectedly mumbled.

"More like killed it."

The blond's face grimaced at Sasuke's correction and released a small pout. The other male quickly retorted, defending his words.

"You said to be honest."

Naruto rolled his eyes and continued walking, knowing that if he asked for the truth, he'd have to accept whatever criticism came his way. Because in the end, what doesn't kill, makes stronger. If there's someone who should know how true that phrase was, it'd be him. Smiling and focusing on the future, the handsome blond asked.

"So tomorrow, what should I prepare for you? What would you like to eat?"

"You're open tomorrow?"

"Yes." He affirmed, putting his hands in his pockets. "Though we open a little late, we do open."

They reached the place where Sasuke's car was parked and the raven offered. "Get in; I'll give you a ride."

"My house is just around the corner. I can walk."

"No one said anything about your ability to walk; I'm simply offering a better alternative." Sasuke added with a sarcastic tone. Disliking having to always coax the blond to enter his vehicle.

"Walking is good for the system."

"…You're really stubborn."

A big grin plastered onto Naruto's face and he rejoiced. "I've been told~ You can just drive home, and I'll walk home~"

"And how would you know what I want for tomorrow?" The raven asked, but the minute that question left his mouth, he knew how stupid it was. He really ought to start getting creative with his words.

"You can tell me now."

Naruto answered as a matter of fact, trying his hardest not to snicker at the embarrassed male. Finding a way to evade his own embarrassment, Sasuke cleared his throat and put his keys back inside his pocket, before he declared with a blank expression. "I haven't decided yet, so let's continue walking."

Naruto blinked at the unexpected reply and commented, this time really wishing to know. "Don't you need to get home or something? It'd take a while for you to walk with me and return to your car, you know."

"…It doesn't matter when I get home," Sasuke started, opening his car and placing his jacket inside. "I live alone."

"Oh, then be my guest."

They started walking and Sasuke picked up where he'd left off before they'd reached his car. "Why does your restaurant have so many different working hours?"

The young chef allowed his eyes to deviate to the stars above them, the stars that were so well-hidden by the blinding bright lights of the nearby shops, and answered.

"When I first bought this place, it was rundown and I had little money on my hands for staff and renewal. So I kinda gathered all of my friends – the unemployed ones – and asked them to work in this place with me. Each worked in the field they felt most comfortable with, Shino in management, Kiba as a register, Sakura as a waitress, Chōji as a chef, and Sai as a waiter. The restaurant first started with just us six. It was tough, hard and filled with days of agony and pain. However, we managed through it and were able to evolve into this wonderful place that I take pride in."

"That still doesn't explain the fickle schedule."

"See, since this restaurant isn't just mine, but ours, we made the schedule based on what every individual would want. Like today, we close early because of Kiba, tomorrow we open late because of Chōji, and Fridays is our own little holiday, so it's off for all employees."

"Does it work? To function like this?" Sasuke asked, a little bit amazed that the restaurant is still getting customers.

"My staff is happy, my customers are happy and I'm happy, so yes, it works just fine."

"I see."

They made a turn and Naruto stopped the other in his tracks with a smile. "Here's fine, you should go back, my apartment is at the end of this street. But before you go, tell me; what would you like to eat tomorrow?"

Sasuke looked the other in the eyes, then shook his head and turned with a smirk backwards. "Surprise me."

Naruto rolled his eyes and walked the opposite direction himself, mumbling in annoyance. "What was the point of this walk then?"

* * *

"So when do you plan on making it for me?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun! You've been postponing it for a while now! Not fair!" A girl with flowing blond hair objected, pouting cutely to catch the chef's attention.

Naruto just smiled at them and continued working. "Sorry, Rina-chan, Miku-chan, my hands are tied today, but tomorrow, I promise to make it for you."

"Tomorrow's too far away, Naruto-kun~!" The one with the curly blond locks identified as Rina protested. "Oh! How about this, you make one for me now and tomorrow you make one for Miku here!?"

Miku, having short, smooth light brown hair rolled her eyes at her best friend and smacked her playfully on the head. "You, little devil, shush. If he's going to make anything for anyone, it should be me. I was the one who discovered this place and gave it its first magazine review!"

"And I'm very grateful for that, Miku-chan, but I'm terribly sorry, tonight is a bit impossible. We can do it tomorrow."

"Do what tomorrow?" Sakura came out of the kitchen holding two dishes one in each hand, then repeated herself. "What are these stupid chicks fighting for today?"

"Sakura," Naruto nervously called. "Go tend to the customers first, you can't have them waiting while you chitchat."

She rolled her eyes at him and snorted while walking away. "It's alright when he does it, but when I do it, it's the end of the freakin' universe."

Sheepishly smiling at her departure comment, the blond excused himself from the company of the two beautiful women just when the front door clicked, singling the entrance of a new customer. His face took a charming smile when his eyes locked on Sasuke's and he went to greet the man.

"You came late today."

"Work didn't let me off early." Sasuke gave his excuse with a tired sigh. "So is my lunch ready?"

Naruto grinned. "Yep~ Today, I made you seafood paella, followed with a dessert~"

"I didn't know desserts were in the package."

"Well," The chef began as he signaled one of the part-timers to bring Sasuke's plates from the kitchen. "I wanted to grasp all your senses, and of course, knowing where we stand on sweets has its own significance."

"If you want to know that then there's no need for desserts. I hate sweets."

The plates came and Naruto took a seat opposite his nippy customer. "You hate food in general."

"Yes, but sweets I honestly can't stand."

The chef hummed to himself, then remarked. "So you dislike sugar?"

"…Yes." Sasuke answered, starting to think he'd been talking to a wall that he needed to repeat his words for. As one of the waiters brought his dish along, he took hold of the fork provided on his right side and started digging in. "Sugar isn't for me."

"You do know that there are desserts without sugar or with bare minimum amount that it doesn't even show… don't you?"

"Then, you can't call them sweets, now can you? And you won't be able to probably test my taste buds if you used the bare minimum."

Naruto sighed and rubbed his head, before he stated. "You do have a right, but I need to know it nonetheless. Anyways, for now, tell me what you think of this dish."

Sasuke nodded as the fork made contact with his tongue, and in a matter of a second, he wanted to throw up the whole thing. However, he held the urge inside of him and like the gentleman he was, swallowed it and made to take another bite, in which he tried to give a good report to the blond about it.

"The white wine… I can taste it overwhelming the whole dish alongside the taste of sweet paprika."

The blond blinked, then whistled, before he complimented. "You were able to detect those? Sasuke, I don't know if I should be happy or worried about that sharp palate of yours."

"My tongue is just extra sensitive, is all."

"Still, no matter what the reason, I'm impressed. This dish of yours, I had served it today to five different customers and none could pinpoint the white wine or the paprika, since I just put a tinge of sweet paprika. You're awesome! What else didn't you like?"

"Hmm… for now, I can't say, you'll have to wait until I finish the whole thing."

"Alright, then I'll go back to my work in the meantime, looking forward to your review~!"

Nodding to the grinning owner for his exodus, Sasuke made to finish the dish before him. His stomach growled uncomfortably and he wiped his dread away, it was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Today too?"

Kiba hung his head low and bit his lower lip at what he was requesting of his employer. He fisted his hands as his tongue answered. "I'm really sorry, but yes, I have to go to her tonight!"

Naruto reached and gave his worker a tap on the shoulder, before softly noting. "It's fine, you don't need to be this bothered about it, we can manage one night without you, even two or three nights. Just go and be with her."

The brunet couldn't help jumping over the chef and squeezing his boss's bones in a tight hug, showing Naruto how much it meant to him that he was this understanding of his situation. The chef allowed his bones to shatter for now and tenderly encouraged.

"Everything would be fine, she's a very strong woman, I'm sure she'll pull out of this attack without us noticing."

Kiba released the blond from his grip and gave him a sad smile. "Yes… I'm sure she would."

"Like I said, if you need to take more days-off, take them and don't worry about the restaurant, we'll manage. Don't forget to convey my good wishes for her wellbeing."

Nodding his comprehension, the rattled brunet silently left the office with a deep bow demonstrating his rooted thanks. "I will! Hinata-chan would be very happy to hear that. Thank you!"

Shortly after Kiba had departed the office, Naruto ran a hand through his hair and started getting ready for his night shift. Honestly, losing Kiba would put them at a disadvantage since they tended to get more customers during the nighttime, and they were already full on reservations. However… Hinata was Kiba's world, his center and his soul companion; he couldn't and wouldn't favor his business over her health and having Kiba beside her.

Actually, Hinata was a very sweet girl, probably the nicest person in the whole world, but she had a very weak body. The girl had transferred to their high school in their second year, second term and as if struck with Cupid's arrow, Kiba was enchanted with her.

Naruto didn't blame him, no one could. Since after being touched with such holly kindness, anyone would fall for the little angel. Though, their days of happiness have come to an abrupt end when Hinata's health started deteriorating, and her body began giving up on her. Finally, she was hospitalized and it wasn't until recently that Naruto learned that Kiba was still keeping in touch with her.

He did know the brunet held deep affection for the beautiful female, but hadn't thought it to be actual love. Therefore, now that he'd come to light about everything, Naruto just couldn't stop his old-timed friend from going to see his sickly girlfriend, even though it put the restaurant through a tough night or two.

When the chef sighed and was about to leave the comfort of his office to tend to his other business, the face of his other employee, Kiba's childhood friend, poked to him from the outside. Naruto sent the observant male a smile and asked.

"Is there something you need, Shino?"

"…No. I was just checking… Kiba… did he tell you about Hinata's condition?"

Naruto's face took on a distressed twist, before he nodded. "Filled me in on the whole picture as general, but no specific details were given."

"So you know?" Grimly, the burnet asked.

"Her condition is worsening and her family is flying her abroad for treatment, right?"

"Yeah… he wants to go with her, and as his best friend I want him to go and help her, but…"

"But as someone who cares about him more than a best friend, you don't want that to happen."

Shino gave his boss a faint smile and nodded as he leant against the wall. "I'm such a bad person, aren't I? She's suffering so much and I know how bad everything's affecting him, but still, all I do is solely think of myself and of how much I'd suffer if he left with her. I want to be with him, I want him to discard her and stay by my side… I… I'm selfishly wishing."

Naruto walked with soft steps and ruffled the dark brown locks, giving his pained manager a sense of comfort, even if a little.

"We are humans. We are designed to feel for ourselves and protect ourselves first. Thinking something along those lines and wanting to monopolize the person you love, no one would ever call you selfish or have the right to demean you. Hinata-chan… she was blessed with the wonderful gift of loving and receiving love back, but she also was given misfortune in the form of a poor physique. On the other hand –"

"I have health but bad luck in love, is that what you're trying to say?"

The blond chef grinned. "Everything balances out. Just like a slice of the chocolate cheesecake you love so much, if the patisserie put a little extra cream, cheese, cake or any other ingredient, it won't be perfect and probably won't taste as good. Therefore, even if you think you've been given the short end of the stick, I assure you, Shino, you did not."

The brunet released a small sigh and allowed his bangs to cover his eyes, hiding what's left of his feelings. Not wanting his employer and friend to see further of his inner darkness and embarrass him.

"You might be right, but you know…" With a sweet smile that made Naruto's heart ache a bit more for the heartbroken male rather than the bedridden beauty, Shino mumbled. "I wouldn't have hated it so much if she and I were to trade places."

"Shino…"

"Let's get back to work. We have a long night ahead of us now that Kiba's no longer here."

Seeing as how the other wanted to close the lid on their little open conversation, Naruto respected his wishes and nodded. "That we should do."

With that, they headed towards the front side of the restaurant and the golden-haired chef sent a silent prayer to whomever was listening for his two friends to find the happiness they were seeking, whether it was in each other's arms or in other people's arms.

* * *

Naruto put the dishes on the table in the middle of his humble residence and, before picking up his fork, made a little prayer of thanks for the dishes he was about to engulf.

"Sasuke," he addressed as his unexpected guest made himself comfortable on the other side of the table. "Explain to me why you're here again?"

"Five days a week. That was our agreement. Skipping a day wasn't on it."

"It's not my fault the restaurant was too crowded for you to find a place to sit." Naruto retorted with dead eyes.

"That's why I'm here." The raven stubbornly sulked.

Naruto took a bite of the meat in front of him and clarified. "My place isn't a restaurant."

"An agreement is an agreement, place doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does. Well, since I'm tired today and you're already here, I won't get in your face about it, but please, another time, don't just waltz into my home as if you own it, call first and see if I can have you in."

"…There's no need for that approach with you." Sasuke said after a minute of silence.

Naruto forced the annoyance deep down and snorted. "Well excuse me for not meeting the proper standards your royal assness requires for using manners; but –"

Sasuke waved his hands around, dismissing the notion and interrupted with. "No, I didn't mean it that way."

Gritting his teeth, the blond asked. "What way did you mean it then?!"

The chef's eyes were vibrating with hidden fire, asking Sasuke and daring him to say the wrong word so hell would break loose on his ass, and sensing the danger he'd be in if he did anything wrong, the Uchiha decided to keep it to himself.

"…Doesn't matter, let's eat now."

Naruto was about to pick the closest thing to him and make its mark appear on Sasuke's forehead, but when the raven took a bite of the dish he'd prepared – simple burgers, by the way –, and didn't show any disgust or dissatisfaction until a whole minute had passed, he lost all the anger inside of him and his face broke to a gush of excitement.

"How do you like it? Was it good? Tasty!?"

Sasuke forced the bite down and reported. "Won't go as far as to call it _tasty_ , but it was less bad compared to the crazy dishes you've been feeding me lately."

The blond allowed a proud grin to grace his lips at the reply, then countered with one of his own. "Well, it's progress. Slow, but progress. _Aaaaaand_ I wasn't feeding you crazy dishes; I was trying my hands with international dishes to see what ticks you off."

"Apparently, none."

"Except this."

"…What's part of _'less bad'_ did you interpret as _'very good'_?" A black brow was raised.

Naruto rolled his eyes and explained in his own way. "Do you know what's inside this burger?"

Sighing, Sasuke decided to humor the blond since if he didn't, they'd just end up arguing… like always. "Some sophisticated seasoning and a holy meat?"

"Salt, garlic and chicken."

The black eyed male blinked them a couple of times, then asked. "…That's all?"

Smugly, Naruto affirmed. "That's all."

"Well, talk about unexpected."

"And very simple. I think, Sasuke, we've been going the wrong way to treat this _'condition'_ of yours."

"What do you mean?" The raven asked as his hand made to take another bite from the burger.

"Well, I've been using dishes with lots of flavor, but maybe I should have used dishes with no flavor. To start from scratch with you seems to be the right method. It took you longer to react this time, because simply, there was nothing to react to. So, for this to work, next time I'd need to use a dish with nothing on it but salt."

"I don't like to be the one to burst your bubbles, but that method won't have me liking any food. It would just make me eat it without tasting a thing, which kind of ruins your reason for doing this, remember? You said you wanted me to appreciate and taste food, what's there to taste when you'll be offering me a dish with nothing in it?"

"But this is the beginning, Sasuke, I need information before I can slap your messed up buds to life again! And this way, while testing your reaction to every seasoning, I'd come to understand why you don't enjoy eating."

Sasuke put the fork down having finished his designated dinner and stood up, heading towards the bathroom. "It seems like you've already made up your mind. Well, good luck with it. I don't care what you do as long as you don't break the five-days feeding plan."

Naruto rolled his eyes, quickly he stuffed his mouth with the food that's left. Then he made to start cleaning up the table, do the dishes and study on the new dishes he was planning on adding to the menu. By the time he finished with the menu, Sasuke had already made himself comfortable on his bed – now that it'd been replaced with a new, _modern_ one – and kept on looking at him as he read through his laptop screen.

Five minutes with being stared at like the most important thing in this world, Naruto asked with aggravated tone. "What are you staring at?"

"You working." Flatly, the answer came to his ears.

"Stop it. It gives me the creeps."

"Hn."

Naruto tried to ignore the black orbs staring him to death, then switched to a different angle so that Sasuke's eyes won't be caught by his visual-field. Yet even so, he could still sense them on his back… ogling. It took him about five minutes to forget the presence of the _'eyes'_ and focus on the food he was reading about. Before long, he was totally absorbed in his own world that whatever Sasuke did was beyond his vision.

After finishing up his task, Naruto stretched his arms, closed his laptop and grimaced at the appearance of Sasuke on his bed, with one hand on it and the other lazily touching the ground. Honestly, he should kick the raven haired man out and send him home, but he wasn't that type of guy. Naruto cursed his own good heart and went to his closet to bring out his futon.

The frustration that he was made to sleep on a futon when his bed was right there had him kick the side of the bed softly, causing Sasuke to shuffle a little in his sleep, but the raven didn't wake up, leaving Naruto with a little sigh of relief.

He made his futon and turned off the lights, shortly before he'd placed a blanket over Sasuke's passed out form and brought one for himself. These days, the air just had this nasty habit of getting colder on its own. With heavy eyes that wanted nothing more than to close and for their owner to rest, Naruto pulled his blanket close, followed by his eyes and gave up to eternal peace.

* * *

"Ara, ara, Naruto, when did you switch to the other side?"

The sound was familiar to his ears; he'd heard it before… was it… was it Sakura's? Yes, that was Sakura's voice. But what was Sakura doing in his apartment? He was sure there was no reason for her to be there… no, wait… last night, she was the last one to close the place and thus took the keys with her, she did say something about coming over real early to return them since she wasn't working that day… yes, there was something like that…

But… if it's Sakura, how did she get in? And why was she saying something like that?

Naruto forced his heavy eyes to crack open slowly, and blinking at the sudden suffocation, his mind came to be aware of the heavy weight that was smothering him. Blinking once more to clear his vision and his blurred memories, he shrieked away from his own futon. Sasuke's form was sprayed close to him with one pale arm thrown causally over his midsection, mistakenly showing their nonexistent intimacy. Looking horrified at her, Naruto tried explaining.

"…I-It's not l-like that, Sakura!"

The girl rolled her eyes, returned a stray pink lock behind her ear and commented. "You're not sounding very persuasive in that position, baby. Besides, I don't judge, it's perfectly alright with me if you're rooting for my team. Now look," She put the keys on the glassy table and continued. "These are the restaurant's keys, and this is your front door's key… seriously, Naruto, you should stop putting it under the vase, any burglar knows that the first place to check is the vase or the rug outside. You have to stop being this careless."

The blond quickly scrambled to his feet, following behind the waitress working in his restaurant. "Wait, Sakura-chan, you don't need to leave so early!"

"No, I need to, I don't want to be a bother to you two," She couldn't help herself from providing a teasing smirk. "And I have classes to catch up to."

Naruto reached the front door and grasped the handle as a sigh escaped his mouth. "I'm telling you it's not like that… he just slept over because he was too lazy to drive home."

"Naruto, just the fact that you've been this close to another human beside us – your friends – and allowed that human to stay in your prohibited apartment raises a serious question in itself."

"…I…"

"It's okay, you don't need to explain. I'm happy for you; it's time for you to settle down, and what hot ass you chose to settle down with, may I add." Sakura smirked as he tried to give another explanation, but due to her short time she couldn't hear it. Leaving with a kiss to his sleepy face and waving her goodbyes, Sakura was out of sight.

Nodding to the disappearing shadow of his pink-haired friend, Naruto closed the door and walked back inside. He looked at the raven haired male sleeping soundly as if the whole interruption-crusade Sakura had done didn't affect him and sighed.

"What the hell am I doing…?"

* * *

Looking at the two sheets of rectangular papers, azure orbs glittered with questions. "What are these?"

"Tickets."

"I can see that. But why give them to me?"

Sasuke put down the spoon and handed the empty bowel to Naruto to wash. "I've been given them and I don't really care for this play, if you want them, I'm offering."

"It's Macbeth." Inspecting the theme, the chef questioned aloud. "You don't like Shakespeare works?"

Sasuke took a sip of the pineapple juice that was made for his pleasure only and answered. "Not a fan of tragedy, more like it."

"Hmm… well, it's on my day off, but I don't know if there's anyone who would want to tag along with me to Macbeth."

Sasuke leaned back on the cushions and brought out some files from the business bag he'd brought with him. "Well, take your girlfriend then."

Naruto put the clean dishes back on the shelves and came to the living room, with the two tickets secured safely in his hands, he grimaced out a reply.

"If I had a girlfriend, your ass won't be seeing the inside of this apartment or stay in it as long as you do."

"Take a friend."

"Just told you, everyone's busy. Sakura has her thesis coming up so she needs every minute to prepare, Kiba and Shino are too busy, besides, I don't think either of them needs any more tragedy added to their lives." Naruto added as an afterthought before dramatically sighing. "And the other friends I have aren't into plays… and now that I think about it, I'm not either."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and extended his right palm. "Then give it here if you don't want it."

Naruto stuck his tongue out and shook his head. "Nope. You rarely bring stuff like these with you, so nah; I'm not passing the opportunity, even if I go alone."

"Going to these plays alone is stupid, it's better not to go at all."

"I don't think so, sure there are people over there that went by themselves since they enjoyed it. Also, there's no law against it."

Sasuke opened one of the files he'd gotten out and started scanning. "If you're going, go. If you're not, give it back."

Putting the tickets on the table, the blond had an idea and he was soon to share. "How about you come with me?"

"If I wanted to use it, I wouldn't have given it to you."

"Yeah, but maybe you just didn't want to go alone –"

"No, I don't like plays, hate tragedies and have work on that particular day." Sasuke gave all his excuses so Naruto would stop pestering about it. If there's something he came to learn, it was the strong will of the chef and how unyielding he was to the ways of the world.

"…I bet you thought about all these things before offering me the tickets."

"No, that was a nice gesture, if you want to take it, take it, if you don't…"

"Hmph, why are you giving off ultimatums one after the other, work didn't go smoothly today or what?"

Naruto watched the always calm features wrinkle with lines showing between the eyebrows, Sasuke put on his glasses and continued looking at the files at hand. That's when the smartass comment he had in the pit of his mouth died down. Seeing how distressed the other looked, had something in the blond wish to take whatever had caused him to look so stressed out and kill it a thousand painful deaths. Shaking his head at the weird and sudden thought, Naruto stood up from the place he'd occupied on the ground and walked over to his fridge.

He and Sasuke had never discussed anything related to the Uchiha's life. Naruto didn't know anything about him except that his name was Uchiha Sasuke and he works as a businessman. Where he works, where he lives, how many family members he has or anything related to his social network were things they'd never conversed about. If anyone asked him about the man who’d come visit every two days, Naruto won't know how to label him.

A friend? A traveler? A passing wind? What exactly?

A transitory label of a _'terrorist'_ had Naruto snicker to himself as he brought out the cream and started whipping it. Two minutes later, he added milk to the shake and stood by preparing the other ingredients. Calling Sasuke a terrorist might as well be the truth. He barged into Naruto's home uninvited, demanded food and didn't leave until he got what he wanted. Yes, a terrorist he was, a terrorist who was able to give him a token of excitement in his routinely dull life.

The blond brought out two beautifully decorated cups – that Choji's mother had presented to him one day when he went back home and she found out he'd opened a restaurant, and had said how they'd look lovely to serve sweets in when guests come over – and started arranging the blue berries in their depth.

From the side of his eye, he looked at Sasuke who had discarded the file he was reading and brought out another one, with the same distressed lines showing on his face. This caused Naruto's hands to work faster with whatever treat he was making. About twenty minutes later, he put the finished sweets in front of Sasuke and commented with a smile.

"Blueberries with cream. A special recipe done and invented by yours truly."

Sasuke looked at the happy expression and the exquisitely adorned cream and sighed. "…I don't like sweets –"

"I know. However, this isn't sweet; it's sour and makes you feel full. Also, it doesn't have many flavors so for a sensitive tongue like yours; it's the best to have right now. I always make it when I have a long day at work and don't feel like doing anything. Even if you can’t stomach it, or you feel yourself walled up in all this," the chef gestured to the bag of files, "taking a break once in a while and enjoying life isn't so bad."

The Uchiha looked at the cup once more and removed his glasses. With his features relaxing back to the calm that had always accompanied it, he took the spoon presented on the side and started eating. His expression changed a little as something inside of him felt relieved when he tasted it, and a tiny, shaken smile presented onto his lips.

"You're a strange person, Uzumaki Naruto."

The chef felt his heart thump loudly at the smile that he was given. It was his first time seeing Sasuke with such a facial expression and a part of him wanted to take a picture of that moment but sadly, the smile vanished as soon as it'd showed. Leaving only its aftereffect, the red hue of a blush, on Naruto's tan cheeks.

"…Y-You're one to talk!"

When those sinful lips turned upwards toward a smirk, Naruto wanted to smash his head on the wall nearby and slowly drown in his own blood. When did his powerful retorts turn into stuttering mess?

"You just proved my words."

"Shut up! Stuttering doesn't mean shit!"

"Whoever mentioned stuttering here?"

"…!"

Naruto gulped down the cream with berries and his feet quickly took him to the kitchen, before he was made into Sasuke's nighttime toy. The raven's smirk only deepened to this gesture and he called out loud.

"What happened to your ' _taste diligently and never swallow like an animal'_ policy?"

"You just killed it!" The spiteful retort came to him from the kitchen and this time, a small laugh escaped Sasuke's lips, but unfortunately to the chef, he was too far away and too engrossed in his current embarrassment to hear and notice.

The next two hours found Naruto sitting beside his old TV set with coffee at hand, watching a game, alienating Sasuke with the fact that he actually watches other channels beside the cooking ones. Sasuke put down his glasses and closed his files, having had enough work for one night. He took the coffee that Naruto was kind enough to make for him and sat beside him, on the sofa, watching.

"What are we watching?"

"Soccer, by red team and blue team."

"Who's the red team and who's the blue team?" Sasuke asked, taking a sip from the warm mug.

Naruto shrugged and leant onto the mustard coloured sofa. "Some foreign team in a foreign country that I'm too sleepy to pronounce its name."

"Hn."

With that, they continued sipping their coffee in absolute silence, except for the noises coming from the anchorman commenting on the events of the game. Naruto felt his eyes fail him with the last drop of coffee leaving the cup into his mouth, and slowly; he put it down then bid the raven haired man a good night.

"Sasuke, I'm too tired, need to hit the sac. 'Till tomorrow."

Frowned at the words, he countered. "I'm the guest here; you can't go to bed before me, that's just common sense."

Naruto straightened up and put his hand on his hips, before saying with a bored expression. "You've been coming to this apartment for a month now; you know it inside out, better than me even. There's no need for me to go out of my way and behave all polity and stuff for your ass. Because like it or not, a guest-pass in this apartment is only for a darn day. Now, I'm going to go to bed, and you can do whatever the hell you want to do."

Sasuke watched as the blond walked away from him and irritably drew the blanket towards himself. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Having a bad day at work didn't justify taking his frustration on Naruto. The chef did nothing but be nice and entertain with every whim Sasuke had come up with, even when no obligations arouse themselves to bind him. However, since Naruto was a good person, he tried to act kind towards Sasuke, and how did he repay him?

He acted like a total jerk and blew off his irritation on Naruto.

Sighing again and standing up, Sasuke looked at the sulking figure facing the wall. With a shaky tone, he tried to offer an excuse for his actions. "Today… it was really rough at work. Nothing was going the way I wanted it to and due to some irresponsible mistakes from an employee, I lost a contract I had been working for ages to secure… I guess what I'm trying to say is that…"

"You were blowing steam on me." Naruto offered with an irritated tone.

"…To some extent."

"And you were a jerk, a smartass and an utter fool."

"Hey! There's no need –!"

The words lost their animosity when Naruto turned and flashed the businessman a smile that really did light all of his face. The Uchiha had no idea why but a sudden thought of how much that smile suited Naruto much better than a frown floated to his brain.

"Since you seem to have reflected upon your mistakes, I'll forgive you, but on one condition," Grinning like a satisfied cat, the blond chef continued. "You'll go with me to see Macbeth~"

Sasuke just rolled his eyes, he didn’t hide how he felt about the dreadful fate Naruto had just given him.

* * *

"Well, Macbeth was an idiot and that idiocy killed him."

Naruto threw the juice he was sucking to the trashcan as they passed the exit to the theater and commented on Sasuke's words. "Because he believed the witches?"

"That and because he allowed fear to cloud his judgments. He made secure by believing he was invincible to death – a foolish thing – and then died when he surrendered to fear."

"But he went down swinging, and you can't disagree that he did what he felt right to attain the throne."

"The first mistake he made was listen to his wife, she poisoned his thoughts and turned him from a nobleman whom everyone had respected to a murderer and a tyrant that everyone wished to rid of."

"…She just wanted her husband to become king." Naruto justified reasonably.

"Hmph, king of destruction and death."

The blond smiled and pointed to the way to the train station. "Well, for me, I understand her emotions alongside Macbeth's. I mean to always see that glimmer before you and finally get a chance to snatch it… even by unhandy methods; I know that feeling quiet well."

"So you're saying that you would kill to attain something you desire?" Sasuke asked his hypothetical question with a raised brow.

Naruto shook his head. "Not kill, but do my hardest. Macbeth lost the minute he stabbed Duncan and killed him."

"To me, he died the minute he met those witches."

"You're still hung up on those witches?" The chef scowled.

Sasuke mimicked his expression and pulled on his black gloves. "I hate it when people decide what path a person should take. Those witches had no right to tell anything, be it a prophecy or not."

"I don't think they meant evil by it –"

"You need to stop siding with every person in that damn play. Agreeing with all of them means you have no opinion whatsoever." The raven harshly interrupted as they passed the crowd outside the theater.

"I don't agree with all of them, I _understand_ why they did what they did. Understanding isn't the same thing as agreeing, you know." Naruto defended his point of view.

"Well, from where I'm sitting, it sounds a lot like you agree to all that senseless killing."

"I don't and I don't appreciate that thought of yours. I'm against violence at all costs." Two golden brows met, showing their master's displeasure. "Sure if there's a fight I believe in, I won't hold back, but senseless violence is a big no, no in my book."

"…Hn."

They had to stop their little debate when they reached the train station and that's when Naruto's mind recalled something. "Wait, Sasuke, where's your car?"

The raven haired male smoothly pulled out his wallet and paid for two tickets for the both of them, not allowing Naruto any time to pay. "I didn't feel like driving today."

"So you came by train? Weird, never thought you to be the type."

Sasuke gave the blond a sideway glance of wonderment. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Releasing a cheesy smile for the inquiring male, Naruto jokingly answered. "Nothing, it's just… you have this whole air of refinance, so it's hard to picture you crammed in a train in rush hour."

"Though I dislike the way you see me, I didn't come by train, I had a ride. Anyways, let's go, the train's about to move."

Naruto blinked at the curt answer, he wanted to ask further, but somehow felt like Sasuke didn't want to tell him anything more and he was always one to respect other people's boundaries. They rushed in and luckily there were two empty seats waiting for them. Naruto sat down and before he could pick up on the discussion he had with Sasuke about the play earlier, he noticed something.

The female population on the train were all eyeing the male sitting beside him and giggling to themselves. Some blushed and some sent obvious flirtatious signs towards Sasuke; however, the black eyed man acted as if he didn't see anything.

Naruto had noticed this behavior inside his restaurant, as well. Whenever Sasuke would come by, the number of his female customers would increase automatically, on a level he was thankful for the businessman for increasing his workload, and on another level, as a man, he felt a bit jealous by all the attention he was getting. Yet… at that moment, a part of him, a tiny part that he didn't wish to acknowledge was slightly glad that Sasuke paid those women no mind.

"Say, Sasuke, you told me that you have a lot of work today, then how did you find time for me?"

Sasuke sighed, apparently having remembered the sacrifices he'd made to come into possession of some free time. "I had to give up my upcoming two weeks' vacation."

Two sapphire orbs widened in shock of the words and bewildered, the chef asked. "You can't be serious. Two whole weeks!?"

"I don't see a reason to joke about this."

"But this is not fair, a couple of hours for two weeks? You shouldn't have agreed to it!"

"Those couple of hours were very important. I had meetings that I didn't come by easily; therefore, giving them up would require more leverage to be taken as a result."

Suddenly, the blond felt his mind sink with a huge sense of guilt. When he'd forced Sasuke to come with him or he won't forgive him, he'd discarded the excuses the other had given as merely excuses so he won't come. Sadly, he'd presumed Sasuke to be a liar and an evader… something the raven haired man turned to be the opposite of. However, now that it was truth and Sasuke was really quite busy to attend, Naruto felt how much he needed to apologize for behaving like a total kid.

"Sasuke,"

The elegant male glanced from the corner of his eye at his companion when the tone suddenly turned very soft as if it was whispered out loud, and asked. "What?"

When Naruto was about to open his lips to apologize, he noticed an old woman standing on the aisle. It was apparent that just doing so was very hard on her since the train was bumping every two seconds on the rails, causing it to sway a lot and for her stability to drop. Being the good boy he was, without hesitation Naruto left his seat for her.

The old woman smiled and thanked him for his chivalry; Naruto nodded and gave his male companion an apologetic look. Yet the next thing he knew, Sasuke was leaving his seat to another person and coming to stand up beside him. Puzzled with the act, the blond couldn't help but wonder.

"Why?"

"I didn't give up two weeks for separation. I'd be with you in every second and make this day count." Without being allowed to, Naruto felt his cheeks give off a red hue and his ears ring with Sasuke's voice. "Besides, that old woman obviously wanted her granddaughter to sit beside her."

Naruto bit softly on his lower lip, his eyes seemed to filter stars into them with the smiling face Sasuke was giving him. It wasn't a full grin like his own, but a smooth, gentle smile that the chef was sure Sasuke didn't use often. Yet again, without as much as request or permission, his heart released a loud thump… much like the one he'd felt his first night having Sasuke inside his home.

The nervous chef could do nothing but lower his face, he prayed that his blush would die down before they got off the train, or he'd be forced to explain why suddenly, he was coming down with a high grade fever and redness that refused to depart his face. Towards the end of their ride, only one-word resident inside Naruto's mind.

 _SHIT_!

* * *

**Thank you for reading this far! Looking forward to your comments and kudos, everyone!*_***


	3. Chapter 3

"I like him." Naruto blurted out as he blended the pancake mixture. "…I think."

Sakura arranged the dishes and pulled out a chair to sit on. Letting her hair loose from the hat holding it captive and turning to her friend, the beautiful waitress asked. "Who do you like?"

"Sasuke…" The name came out of his mouth as a puzzle.

"The hot guy who hates your cooking?" Sakura's voice was filled with an equal amount of disbelief.

"Yes, I think I like him."

"And you're saying this based on…?" She moved her hands in a gesture that asked for him to provide a solid reason for the bomb he was all but dropping on her.

Naruto poured the mixture into the pan and covered it under low heat, waiting for it to cook. "On feelings, of course, what else is there?"

"Hmm… gee, I don't know, maybe his looks? Hotness? Class? That sexy voice that deserves to die for?"

The chef rolled his eyes and went to pour the coffee – that was just done – into two cups, presenting one to his best friend. "Not everyone's like you, Sakura-chan."

"Nonsense. Everyone's like me! Who wouldn't want to be with a smexy piece of ass with a husky voice?" There was curiosity in her voice. "Everyone might try to deny it, but in heart, I know they do. You too, are you sure you're not being blinded by his charming qualities?"

"It's not just those qualities in him that I see, I like his character too."

Sakura rudely spurted out laughing like a manic. With a mocking tone, she continued her cynicism. "What character!? Naruto, the dude is as cold as Alaska! He puts the Poles to shame! Seriously, you'd have more chances with a response from a bulldozer than him."

"Sakura…" Naruto called out, checking his pancakes. "He's not that bad."

"Yeah, he's not, he's _worse_!"

"…Okay, putting your own perspective and the way I see him behind us, what do you think, should I confess?"

The pink-haired girl frowned at the question, though her facial expression changed to delight as she watched Naruto arrange the pancakes onto two plates. He placed some of her favorite chocolate syrup on top of hers and passed it her way. Happily, she took a bite and gave herself a minute to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. After having her fun, she resumed her initial frown.

"Putting it simply, you shouldn't. Firstly, Naruto, you're a male. We two have grown up with homosexuals all around us that we had gotten used to them. However, other people, they don't feel the same way, and he might do so as well. Secondly, you know nothing about him, Naruto, aside from what he's showing you, he might be a serial killer and we won't know. The way he's keeping you in the dark about everything that he is, is something that you need to be worried about. Lastly, you just _like_ him, right? You still don't know what type of like it is; it might be the brotherly one. You need to make sure before you blurt something like that out loud, I'd hate to see you ruin your friendship because of it."

The chef took a seat beside his old-time friend and, with an elbow on the counter, he began diving into his own share of pancakes. "It's true I don't know his real self or what type of like I have for him – though I doubt he's a serial killer – but I don't think it's the brotherly type."

"Did you masturbate to him or something?"

Naruto scowled at her question. "Do refrain from mentioning anything sexual in my kitchen; Sakura, it's a sacred place to me –"

"Yeah, yeah, so did you?"

Sighing at the way he was being brushed off, the blond replied truthfully. "No. Not yet."

"Well then, until you do and start viewing him as a sex-object, we'll stick with 'brotherly love'."

"Look, Sakura," he sternly corrected, "I'm not in love with him, so don't write me off as such. I just like the guy."

The girl winked as she gulped the remaining pieces of her pancake down, alongside the last drop of coffee. "If you like him, it's only a matter of time before you start falling for him."

"…I don't like that prophecy of yours."

"Yet, it's the truth. Anyways," she stood up, heading to the sink as she continued. "You still haven’t told me the whole story, what’s going on between you two?” 

Naruto took a sip from his coffee and answered. "Hmm… it’s an unusual story, but you should know, I honestly only know bits and pieces about him, never really shared the routinely screened for info. However, what we have is an agreement; I never break it and so far neither did he."

Raising a brow up at his words, the waitress probed: "What agreement?"

"I guess it won't hurt to tell you,"

"Yeah, it won't," she affirmed.

He rolled his eyes at her and asked: "You know how he doesn't enjoy food?"

When Sakura provided a positive nod, he continued. "We agreed that I'll help him. I'd be cooking for him and figure out why his taste buds were signaling everything as nasty. I'd be responsible for his meals for five days a week and for the extra two, he'd have to fend for himself."

"Hmm… what did you find out so far?"

"Nothing." Naruto scowled at his bad luck. "I went with heavy flavors and he didn't like them, low flavors and he didn't like them. Right now, I'm going from zero up, salt, pepper, and the other seasoning would be added to see what makes him tick."

"You've been carrying this since September?" She blinked, having finally been given the full picture to the events everyone in the restaurant had thought to be odd.

"Yeah… something wrong?"

Sakura allowed a hand to scratch her head as she clarified. "Naruto, what if this wasn't related to actual cooking? What if he had some type of psychological trauma and now, he can't taste? Or maybe something physical, like some type of surgery or actual illness that changed his perception to flavors. What if the thing you're trying to treat can't be treated by your field of study?"

The chef put the coffee from his hands on the table as his eyes locked with hers. "What are you trying to say?"

"Reason. If you know nothing about him, how can you know that he's not faking it just to get your attention? He could be hiding his psychological trauma, physical illness or whatever had changed his taste just to get close to you."

"And?" the blond chef hedged, trying to understand her point of view. "What would be his means for doing something like that?"

Sakura moved her hands frantically in the air. "I don't know… rob you of your money, get your trust and kill you in your sleep. Whatever means people have. You can't trust him just because he showed you something unique and asked your help –"

Naruto interrupted her speech by reaching his hand and gently rubbing her head. He'd developed that habit from tending to his dog, now deceased. With a tone that matched a tender mother's, he countered her theories.

"Sasuke isn't a bad person, Sakura. From what I could see, he has money that could even be more than I earn a year and if he wanted to kill me, then more than one opportunity had presented itself to him, but I'm still safe here before you. I appreciate your worry for me; but Sasuke really isn't the harmful type.”

"Naruto…" She started, eyes already filling with anxiety and concern. "You're too trusting."

"No, I'm not. I actually can't even believe the things I'm saying to you about him. It's my first time defending someone like this, you know me and you know that I don't warm up to people easily… but he… with one single conversation, we were able to connect and I could easily see that he wasn't lying to me in every word that he'd said."

"That still doesn't deny anything. You can't fully trust a person whom you know nothing about."

"But I do know, Sakura, I know that his name's Uchiha Sasuke and works in a company; I know he likes black and navy blue; I know that his calm demeanor is just his way of handling the load of life. I know he likes reading and rain and finally; I know that he wants from the depth of his heart to enjoy food again."

"If… If that's true, then he's just using you, Naruto!" She exclaimed.

"Even if he's purely using me to be able to taste again, I'm fine with it. Helping someone like Sasuke isn't so bad, believe me." Naruto finished with a cool smile.

The beautiful female 'hmphed' and removed his hand from her hair, standing with the action. "I don't know or see what you're seeing, but I hope you're okay and still okay. I don't fully trust him, cool people are always mysterious and have danger lurking all around them, and if you're going to blindly trust, I guess I'll be the one on my toes then."

Naruto provided her with a clear smile. "Please do, Officer Sakura-chan.~ I'll be in your care~!"

"Baka! You'll see how right I am, just wait!"

The girl marched irritably out of the kitchen, most likely heading to the changing rooms to switch to her regular clothes and leave the restaurant. The chef watched her leave, thinking to himself how cute his childhood friend really was, worrying about him to that degree and going as far as to ensure him a full investigation on Sasuke…

A full investigation that he wouldn't even listen to.

* * *

Sasuke wiped the sweat that was dripping down his forehead and, as he continued up the long stairs, folded his suit jacket on his forearm. He took three minutes to catch his breath once he reached the top, his eyes blazed in the bright lights. Apparently, tonight was some type of summer festival. He just finished his work and stopped by Naruto's restaurant only to find it closed. When he'd asked about the reason, a passerby – who turned out to be a regular – told him that the staff was working on a festival. As such, the restaurant was closed.

The raven haired male bit his lip as thirst clawed at his throat. He walked to the nearby vender and got himself a cold bottle of water. When his thirst had been tended to, Sasuke began his crusade to find his feeding cook. The place was crowded and filled to the brim with people. There were cheerful children and elderly people, women and men, and even teens mixed throughout.

Everywhere he looked there was happiness. It was apparent that everyone was enjoying their time. Everyone except him, that is. Drained with the heat of the summer that he wasn't used to, and feeling like he was totally lost amidst all those stands, Sasuke decided to take a break by sitting on one of the empty benches in the cozy atmosphere. He needed to catch his breath, and he needed space to do it.

Not two steps forward to his designated bench, three girls approached him with flirtatious smiles. He gave a mental sigh at the trouble that was heading his way and tried to reply to the cheerful greetings they gave him with a bored one of his own.

"Araa, you're alone?"

"We can show you around~"

"Yeah, come with us."

Sadly, he wasn't even allowed to open his mouth as the three beautiful women pulled him away from the bench, two holding an arm and the last one pushing him from the back. He wanted to yell at them to keep from touching him so familiarly, but as he didn't want to cause more of the audience to witness his ordeal, let alone find himself lost in a maze. Besides they looked like locals so they must know where Naruto's stand was, Sasuke shut his mouth and tried another method. One way or another, they were going to let go of him. That, or he would make them lead him to his stall of choice.

"Listen, do you know of a chef named Uzumaki Naruto?"

The girl holding his right arm, a blond whose hair was tied in a high bun and who smelled of nice perfume blinked. "Eh, Naru-chan? You know him?"

"… _Naru-chan_? Y-Yeah… him. I'm trying to get to him."

The girl on his left side grinned. "Naru-chan is working now; we can take you to his stand."

"Yep, yep~ Any friend of Naru-chan is a friend of ours~!" The third one chirped, putting more power into her push.

The three women – who Sasuke was beginning to believe were a bit drunk – were plowing through the crowd without remorse, tugging him along like a ragdoll. At some point, he was forced to run just to keep up. About fifteen minutes of the constant headache, coupled with heat and the sound of loud drums, the raven haired male found himself standing beside a decorated stand. Although he didn't know the path he had taken to arrive at his destination, Sasuke was able to identify some of the workers running it. His eyes scanned swiftly for the familiar blond locks, but there were no traces to be found. In response, his headache seemed to increase.

"He's not here, you know."

A feminine voice called out to his dizzy head, Sasuke blinked at a somewhat familiar pink-haired girl. It was one of the waitresses in the diner, he concluded belatedly. "I beg your pardon?"

"Naruto… he's not here. It's his break time. I'm assuming that was the reason for you being here, right?"

Before he could answer, the girls crowding him let go as they surrounded the jade-eyed beauty.

"Sakura-tan~ You're so lovely today too~!"

Sakura scowled at the blond who gave her the compliment and clung to her for dear life. "Rina-san! Please, I'm working right now. If you may, don't cling to me so much!"

With all her power Sakura snatched her hand from the woman. In response, the blonde began sobbing on behalf of Sakura-chan being a meanie.

"Sakura-chan! That's horrible! There's no need for violence." The woman who was pushing Sasuke's back earlier went to help the one who was crying over Sakura's cruelty.

The pink haired female 'hmphed' and kicked the two women away from the stand. "Go away, you drunks! I have no time to deal with you tonight! We're plenty busy!"

"I'll tell Naru-chan! Just you wait!"

"Tell him, now scram!"

Sasuke watched in amazement as the female known as Sakura rid herself of the three annoying women, who had been working him like a toy. When his eyes met hers, her annoyed face only seemed to worsen. Nonetheless, it didn't show in her tone.

"You'll find him behind the shrine, probably gazing stupidly at the stars… or sleeping."

"…Why are you telling me this?"

Sakura turned her back to him with a simple: "Because I know he wants you to come, so don't waste his hopes!"

Astonished by her words, Sasuke curtly gave a nod to her turned back and picked up his bottle of water. He made his way to the shrine, not knowing if the heated gaze he felt on his back was from the girl who had just helped him or the three women he'd abandoned the minute they served their purpose.

However, no matter where it came from, he paid it no mind, embarking on yet another journey. Only this time, it was to reach the back of the shine.

* * *

"I should have known you were slacking off here."

Naruto's body startled upwards from his lying position. The abrupt action resulted in the unfortunate collision of his forehead with Sasuke's slouched form. Staggering to his knees, the chef held his aching head. His brain attempted to register the reason for the presence of his presumed source of affection.

"S-Sasuke…? What are you doing here?"

The raven haired male rubbed the bump that Naruto's huge forehead had made on his own, and gave a curt reply. "I went to the restaurant to have my dinner and you weren't there."

The ache in his head had reduced to a dull throb, Naruto swiftly sat beside Sasuke who had discarded his tired form to the soothing grass. How he could look so cool lying on the ground, the blond would never know.

"Oh. Sorry about that. I wanted to inform you earlier, but it happened so suddenly I didn't have time to."

Sasuke's face squeezed into a tight frown. "That's because we lack connection –"

Naruto blinked at the abrupt declaration and, when he felt the need to inquire further, his eyes strayed as he noticed the track of sweat trailing down into Sasuke's white shirt. Swiftly, as if drawn by a hidden spell, his eyes scanned the area nearby, searching for the jacket that completed the outfit his crush was wearing. Not two seconds later, he located it thrown a good two meters behind them, alongside a bottle of forgotten water. Putting two and two together and getting four, his mind calculated the events that must have happened to deliver an exhausted Sasuke to him.

His diner had gone to the restaurant, found it closed, somehow managed to learn they were at the festival, and set out in search for him. The puzzle was complete, except for one single question that he failed to answer and had to voice out loud:

"…How did you find me?"

Sasuke didn't bother cracking an eye open in response to the faint whisper, opting instead to spread his arms out in a relaxing position. "I just did."

"The shrine is practically a maze for someone who's not from the area. A lot of people got lost on their first visit, and unless you're a local, you won't know your way around, let alone find me and my secret base. So, who guided you?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and countered as he turned towards the questioning blond. "Firstly, secret base? Seriously? What are you, five? Secondly, no one did. I found you all by myself and it wasn't even all that hard. All I had to do was follow the smell of takoyaki. Now forget all that and answer me, where's my dinner?"

Naruto mimicked Sasuke's previous eye-roll and countered: "Yeah, about that. Our agreement was for a _'lunch'_ , not a _'dinner'_ , and you missed that, so..." He shrugged. "You get nothing~"

"Did I say I will be missing it?"

"You didn't show up."

"You should have waited." Sasuke groaned, not liking the idea of going back on an empty stomach.

"Sasuke, we had a lot of work. The festival was something that Sai had enrolled us in at the last minute; a stand was vacant and they needed to fill the space. I had to stand on top of everything and see the preparations through. I didn't have time to even blink an eye or have dinner myself, so don't bother me about not waiting for your ass to come eat."

Naruto flopped back into his original position after his little speech, feeling his lost energy return just by bickering slightly with his perceived crush. Meanwhile the raven haired male looked at him with mystified eyes, opening his mouth to defend himself.

"Today I wanted to come, yet I couldn't make it. Trouble after trouble was ambushing me, and work was letting way for nothing." His expression took on an irritated mask as he cursed. "Dammit! I just want to get away from everything here and disappear!"

At the sudden shout, Naruto felt his face twist into a smile. "If the girls who fawn over you get to see this side, I think your popularity will go down a notch or two."

"Let it disappear totally, I don't care. Senseless girls are also a part of the problem, they glue themselves to me, ignoring my wishes and playing me like a damn flute. I'd be the happiest guy alive if I had no female admirers."

The chef rolled his eyes. "…Yeah, cool men really do piss me off."

Sasuke ignored the remark and remembered something that he'd almost forgotten. "Which reminds me: I just met three drunken women who happen to know you,"

Naruto blinked innocently and pointed a finger to himself. "Know lil' old me?"

"Yes, they led me to the place where _'Naru-chan'_ ," Sasuke smirked eyeing the blond, "Works."

"Aha… so you met Rina-san, Miku-san and Tami-san."

Upon getting nothing more than a simple blink as a reaction, the raven haired male adjusted his position. "I'm not too sure about the other two, but one of them was indeed named ' _Rina'_."

"Then the other two are Tami and Miku. Those three are inseparable, always flocking together. Besides, I saw them earlier on so I'm pretty sure they were the ones who embattled you… oh, wait! They're not the annoying, senseless women who glue themselves to you, are they?"

"As a matter of a fact, yes, they are. How did you know?"

Naruto gave off a bright grin. "They tend to run towards good-looks the minute they spot them, and last time I checked, females find you _'one hot piece of ass'_ …Sakura's words, not mine." The last part was added when Sasuke raised a brow.

"Sakura? Your waitress with the pink hair?"

"Yep~ You met her?"

"She was the one who said you were behind the shrine."

"Aha! I knew you didn't find me by yourself! Smell my ass."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and smacked the chef playfully on the arm, which was very soft due to their weird and apart positions. Why he noted such a fact, he did not know. "Baka, she just said to search the area behind the shrine. Getting to the shrine and actually finding the back were all me. Which reminds me, why the hell are you hiding here anyways?"

"Hiding?" the blond blinked innocuously. "Who said anything about hiding?"

"Your little bubble gum-haired waitress did."

"She's just grumpy because she missed a date because of work."

"Hn. You still didn't answer me, why here?"

Naruto smirked and stood up abruptly. Without waiting for a blink from Sasuke, he did some hand signals and postures to end up with a Power Rangers pose, before boldly declaring: "It's my secret base~!"

This time, Sasuke actually stood up, went over to the posing chef and smacked him rather hard on the head. "I-D-I-O-T!"

Naruto stuck his tongue out and returned to his old position on the grass, deciding to answer truthfully. "I like it here; they show very brightly in this place."

The businessman followed the other's gaze and his eyes widened at the vast scene before him. Why hadn't he ever noticed the little lamps of light glittering in the darkness? Gazing upon the sky, Sasuke was struck by the obscurity of the night, darker than smeared charcoal, enthralled by small splashes of gold, sparkling here and there as if an artist had brazenly attempted to light it without aim. Smoky grey clouds deteriorated under the fluorescent light, silver beams of the moon drifting through and dancing merrily, as if they were shadows to be banished

The whole scene stole his breath. For that moment, he was unable to put thoughts into words.

Naruto's eyes turned into little foxy slits when he saw Sasuke's stolen expression; he beamed. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"It's been… a very long time since I last gazed at the sky. I never realized what I've been missing."

The hushed tone Sasuke was using had Naruto reply with a tender replica of it. "We get preoccupied by life too much to notice what's above us, but I made a promise to myself never to forget to take a few minutes and admire what's around me. Since it's hard to see stars in the lights of the city, I come here when I feel like I want some beauty. This spot is fantastic for that."

"I can see…"

They allowed a moment of silence to engulf them as they both looked at the stars with fondness. Naruto snuck one or two glances the other's way and when he was caught the last time, his heart gave a spluttering thump. He hit himself mentally and stood before Sasuke could think to question him about his actions. Dusting himself off, he extended a hand towards the raven haired male and allowed his voice to resonate.

"I bet you're hungry, let's go. I'll fix you something quick to eat."

"I thought your offer was a _'lunch'_ , not a _'dinner'_." Sasuke retorted with snark.

"Just this time. I'll look the other way… for you."

After his little comment, Sasuke's hand clasped tightly onto his, Naruto passively ignored the little voice inside that snickered happily. He allowed his heart to skip a few beats before he silenced it with reason. Taking his hand away, he beat up both the voice in his head and his heart, going to pick up Sasuke's discarded jacket and water.

"Here," the chef threw the bottle the raven haired male's way. "I'm not sure if you remember the way back, so I'll lead."

"I do; but since I'm too tired, I'll allow you to do it."

Naruto rolled his eyes at the other’s prideful personality, nonetheless, he didn’t hate it. In fact, he felt a smile break on his lips, he tried his best not to let it turn into a full blown grin. Luckily, he managed to maintain a straight face, until the crowd once more formed before their eyes. In that place, his secret base behind the shrine, no one has ever located it from the very first try. Yet, Sasuke did it and so easily as well. It made Naruto feel delighted to like someone so smart.

It was the place he ran to when he didn't want Sakura to force him into something, or to simply laze around and stay away from the crowds. His ears perked when noise – a signal of their entrance to the land of the festival – drew closer. As the chef walked amidst the people, he made sure Sasuke was toeing behind as not to get separated. Five minutes later, they were standing in front of Naruto's booth. A tired sound greeted the blond.

"Took you long enough."

"Sai…" Naruto scowled at the extremely pale male who was yawning like there was no tomorrow. "Where's Sakura?"

"She ditched, saying something about a break and shit. Anyhow, come help out. My hands are fucking tired of this shit."

The chef rolled his eyes at his employee's bad mouth and walked behind the stall to put on his apron. "Stop cursing when you're handling food, it's not professional!"

"They ain't eating my words, stupid boss, they're eating my balls."

"Ew, Sai! Gross!" A golden haired girl grimaced and hit the rude male on the back, causing his black eyes to naughtily gleam at her.

"What's wrong, Ino-chan? Don't like my balls? It's a matter of a fact that a lot of people are demanding them, just look at the line in front of you."

The long-haired blonde with stunning light blue orbs flashed the crowd a nasty look, then raised her middle finger at him. "They ain't here for _your_ balls; they are here for the takoyaki. _TA-KO-YA-KI_!"

"Balls are balls, doesn't matter where they come from."

"Sai, you're sick!"

Naruto rolled his eyes at his employees and tried to hush their conversation before the waiting customers fled. "You two, quit it and get back to work. We don't have all night and there's a lot to do."

The beautiful female and her perverted coworker nodded to Naruto, they though groaned a bit about how long they'd been on their toes. Naruto brushed their threats about demanding a raise aside, and each returned to their assigned task. The chef covered his golden locks with a bandana and smiled for Sasuke as he offered him a seat, seeing as the raven haired male was on the verge of falling over from exhaustion. It anything, it confirmed Naruto's suspicion of him not having a great stamina.

Sasuke wasn't in the mood for conversing or even acting his proper self. Thus, when he sensed a girl try to approach him with her friends, he quickly sent her a death glare that had her swiftly deviate away from him. Cradling his head between his open palms, he lamented on the fact that his headache seemed to worsen by the minute. With it, his irritation resurfaced.

Before he could make a scene and embarrass the hell out of himself, Sasuke walked towards the blond who was busy making him a meal. He tapped him lightly on the shoulder, figuring that talking right now would do nothing more than buzz his head the wrong way. When the chef turned, Sasuke pointed to his head and tightly closed his eyes to single the amount of pain he was under. Naruto 'oh'ed to him and nodded.

"Wait here. I have some painkillers in my bag, let me get them."

Sasuke grabbed Naruto before he could rush out to medicate him and shook his head, forcing his lips to move ever so slowly as not to cause any vibrations to traverse down his nervous system and further his pain. "No need. I'm just tired, it happens all the time. I'll just go home for the night; you stay and tend to your customers."

"Will you be alright driving with that headache?"

"…I'll manage."

Watching the raven haired male stagger on his feet and bump into people right and left; caused Naruto to frown to himself. He wanted nothing more than to walk the businessman home, but Sasuke had a point: he had a lot on his plate, and they were short-staffed. It would be impossible to adhere to the demands of the present crowd if he left. As such, he – being the boss and all – refrained from leaving simply because someone he knew was having a headache… such an action was unprofessional and downright idiotic.

Still, Naruto couldn't spit the bitter taste off his tongue.

Not feeling right with it, he picked up his phone and quickly dialed his best friend's number. In a matter of minutes, Sakura was standing beside him. Naruto briefed her about the ordeal and asked her to follow Sasuke and see if he had reached home safely. Reluctantly, the girl abandoned her festival-time and followed the disappearing male, groaning to herself about how she was being forced to stalk Naruto's unhealthy crush. The blond was taking the bullet train to obsession.

About half an hour later, the busy chef's phone buzzed with a strange number of missed calls that, when he took note of them, he found it too late to do anything.

* * *

Trying to hush his voice as best as possible, yet still be able to convey the amount of his frustration at the surprise inside his apartment, Naruto semi-shouted on his phone. "What's the meaning of this, Sakura!?"

" _Meaning of what exactly_?"

"Sasuke! Why's he here!?"

There was a pause on the line and then Sakura's sleepy voice responded with a sigh. _"…You didn't read my text._ "

"What text?"

" _The fucking text I sent three hours ago! Honestly, baka, I'm too tired for this shit so listen carefully. I'm not going to repeat myself! Your crush was vomiting near a stinking tree when I found him, he wasn't conscious of his surroundings and I don't even think he recognized me. Anyways, since I had no idea where he lives and the closest thing to a descent apartment I knew was your place, I took him there…"_ Sakura yawned and added before Naruto could react: " _You really should take my advice and change the location of your keys._ "

"…He's sick? I thought he only had a headache."

" _Apparently not. He had some kind of fever when I left. I did my best for him and then sent you that message that you didn't even bother reading to bring some type of medicine for him_."

"Wait! You left him with a fever!? _Sakuraaaa_!"

" _Hey! Don't whine my name like that! It's annoying! I'm not his mother nor do I have a crush on him. I won't nurse him back to health whilst losing precious sleep-time. No, scratch that: I did like him, but since you're too serious in aiming for his ass – or do you want him to aim for yours? – I decided to step back_." She reasoned with all clarity.

"People don't leave sick people alone regardless of what they mean to them!" Naruto tried to get his point across, disliking how his friend had dealt with all this.

" _You always prove to me that the thing inside your skull is just for decoration! Baka! This is a gift to you! Nursing a sick dude to health is the quickest way to his fucking heart!_ "

Naruto couldn't help sighing on the line and correcting his sleepy friend. "That's his stomach, Sakura, not his health. And I'm pretty tired myself… I don't think I'm a good nurse in this case."

" _Whiny child, I want to sleep. Figure out your shit yourself. You should thank me and give me a whole month’s salary for not leaving him drown in his own vomit, bye!_ "

Before he could come up with a retort to her annoyed speech, Sakura hung up on him and Naruto was left staring at his phone with distressed orbs. He sighed again after a minute and returned inside the apartment, after locking the door behind him and drooping with exhaustion. Now that he has spent a good fifteen minutes idly staring at the passed out form of Sasuke, he could see Sakura's efforts.

She had taken his shirt off and wiped the sweat coating his body with the napkins lying beside him, tucked him in bed and used two of Naruto's blankets to warm him up. Sasuke's clothes and shoes were neatly placed on the chair beside the front door. The chef heaved a sigh and continued further inside. He took off his own jacket and entered the bathroom to freshen up. Splashing some water onto his face, he searched the cabinet for some medicine that would help his crush return to health. He had no idea what was wrong with Sasuke, but he decided to grab something for the fever. At the very least, he could have caught a passing cold.

The chef made his way to the kitchen and brought a glass of water for the pills, then returned to his living room – AKA his bedroom – and sat on the floor opposite of the raven haired male. He wanted to shake him so that he would wake up and take the medicine, but putting his hand over the other's forehead and feeling only a faint radiant heat, the blond decided to let him continue sleeping. It would seem that the fever wasn't as bad as he originally thought.

Looking Sasuke in the face, Naruto couldn't stop his eyes from tracing the layout of his appearance. Every single curve was memorized into his memory, when a black lock came to rest on Sasuke's upper eyelashes, he gently removed it and patted the agonized raven haired male on the head. A moan escaped his patient's lips.

Up on his feet in a second, Naruto went to his kitchen and fetched some cool pads. If Sasuke wasn't able to drink the pills, he could at least help the remaining fever cool down with the pads. So, setting the bowl close by on the table, Naruto dipped the pads in cool water and placed them on Sasuke's forehead. Sasuke's eyes squeezed slightly, but then relaxed when the heat was drained to coolness.

Again, without meaning to, the blonde's hand moved to pat the soft locks as a silent encouragement to Sasuke; to let him know there was someone close by taking care of him.

Naruto knew that he was crossing the silent business-like boundaries they had set their first night. However, there was no witness to his obvious trespass this instant. Therefore, all was well and dandy in his mind. He grinned to himself and adjusted his sitting position so that he could rest his upper body on the bed with the lower part splayed on the floor in a comfortable fashion. The chef put the pills away with the water and allowed his eyes another glance at tired facial muscles, before surrendering to sweet sleep.

He wished for Sasuke's wellbeing in the morning.

* * *

"So she brought me here?"

Naruto nodded and handed one toothbrush to the raven haired male standing by the frame of the bathroom door. "Yeah…"

Sasuke walked inside and stretched to take the toothpaste and rinse the brush before speaking. "I don't remember everything, only bits and pieces."

Naruto felt his body shiver the minute Sasuke's husky voice washed over his ears; hot air touched his lobe. Swiftly, he put his own brush on the racket and, as he used the towel to wipe his lips, moved away from the other male, killing their close proximity. Sasuke eyed the fleeing behavior but said nothing. He put the brush that was handed to him inside his mouth and waited for Naruto's counter comment.

"She brought you here and helped you the best she could then left. When I came back you were already fast asleep, there was honestly nothing to do."

"…"

While Sasuke brushed his teeth, Naruto walked to the kitchen leisurely and started checking his fridge for ingredients to make some breakfast. Fifteen minutes later, the two males were in the kitchen with the chef scowling at the lack of certain ingredients.

"We need to go to shopping."

"My car's still at the shrine’s ground."

"Who mentioned anything about your car? We'll walk~"

Dread fell from Sasuke’s eyes at the mentioning of using his legs and abandoning the comfort of his vehicle. Before Naruto could set out on a shopping spree, he held him in place. "…Okay, let's clarify something here, do you know why I got sick yesterday?"

The blond blinked at their close vicinity and questioned back. "Summer's fever?"

"Hell no." using his index finger to be assertive, the businessman continued, "It's walking too much and going towards crowds and crowds of people. I dysfunction around chaos and what you saw yesterday was the tip of the iceberg. So don't even mention any walking or associating with anyone for this upcoming week, got it?"

The blond looked at Sasuke as if he was the craziest person alive and moved ever so slowly out of his reach. However, seeing the horror in Sasuke's eyes enlarged when he chose to ignore his declaration, Naruto threw his hands in the air in a disbelieving manner.

"You must be kidding me! Sasuke, you can't be that _weak_!"

"Not _'weak'_ ," he glared at the word and disdained its linkage to his name. "I'm just _'susceptible'_ to certain things. In this case, walking and crowds."

"Crowds I get, but walking? Why the hell would you be _'susceptible'_ to walking? And **_how_**!?"

"When it's on my pace, I'm fine with it, but running, being dragged, or pacing with someone – all these things upset my stomach and I get sick. It's pretty normal actually. Some people get scared of ghosts, ghouls and whatever, I dislike walking… and crowds."

"But not fear."

"Huh?"

The blond took a deep breath then repeated slowly. "You dislike, but don't fear."

"Why on hell's name would I fear them?" Sasuke looked at the blond as if his brain was made of mush.

"You used a 'fear example' so I presumed…"

"I was just making any example, don't be so literal. Anyway, if you want to go to the supermarket, either we walk with my pace or you can run by yourself and bring the stuff here."

"Do you get like this often?" Naruto asked with real concern this time. How many times had Sasuke suffered such a condition? To get an upset stomach simply from being in a crowd or anything of the sort, that must have been a great disadvantage in his life.

When Sasuke saw the genuine worry inside those lovely blue seas, he ran a hand through his hair and answered truthfully. "Only when I'm super exhausted."

"Much like yesterday."

"Bingo."

Naruto walked to his front door after picking up his wallet and slippers. "Alright, you stay here then; I'll go and come back real quick. With your condition yesterday, it's better not to be reckless about anything."

"Nothing will happen if we go –"

"Your pace, I know. but only God knows how long it'd take us to reach the supermarket with that, it's best I go and come back quickly. Don't open the door to anyone when I'm gone!"

"Hn."

Sasuke relaxed on the bed and allowed his past memories to float to him. Actually, he lied when he told the blond that he only remembered bits and pieces. The part about Sakura, that was a bit fuzzy, but the rest of the night was crystal clear inside his head. He remembered the soft touches and warmth that had engulfed him the minute Naruto came back home. He was actually awake when the blond conversed through the phone, but thought it to be best if Naruto didn't know. Sasuke was a little surprised when Naruto treated him with such… care.

It made him feel warm and at peace. It had been a long time since he felt like that. As such, it was the reason for his silence – his allowance for Naruto to do as he liked. When morning came, Sasuke was astonished to learn that he'd drifted off to sleep with Naruto's soft pats. When his eyes laid on the worn out chef sleeping so soundly beside him, he allowed a smile to grace his lips. He ruffled that golden hair and took hold of the lower section of Naruto’s body to haul him on bed; since it really wasn't fair for him to allow Naruto to sleep in such a messed up position in his own home.

Since the warmth of the new body beside him was too inviting to ignore, he retreated back to sleep. Sasuke had been lost to the world of sweet dreams, not opening his eyes for some good three hours or so. When the blond was up and on his feet, he hurried towards the bathroom the minute their eyes had met.

Maybe the chef wasn't used to people sleeping with him…? Surely that could explain why he ran away from Sasuke. The raven haired male furrowed his brows. Maybe –

**Ding Dong.**

Sasuke was awakened from his train of thoughts by the sound of the front door ringing. As he made his way to the door, Naruto's words came to him. He was not to open the door when he was away. However, being a grownup who didn't abide by rules made for kids, the raven haired male made the mistake of opening the door.

Such a simple action, yet he wound up regretting it for a great deal of time.

* * *

Naruto set down the tray, with two cups of coffee and sat on his chair, facing the man who he was displeased to find trespassing inside his apartment. A fine looking male looked back at him with stunning lavender eyes. His long lashes did a wonderful job in highlighting his bright orbs, and to finish the picture-perfect features, flawless, silky dark-chocolate locks descended from the black hat he'd worn and reached the edge of his right hip. A white clip allowed the soft hairs to be collected together in a neat fashion, giving both refinance and class to their owner.

Naruto reached and took a bite of the crème brulée his visitor had come with, before he allowed the delightful taste to swarm over his buds and jingle all the right places. Actually, he'd have liked Sasuke to taste some of it, but recalling the previous scene of Sasuke dashing outside the minute Naruto had returned had the chef swallow the crème brulée bitterly. With a tone of voice that anyone would find rude, he demanded the reason for the sudden visit.

"And then? Why are you in my house?"

Lilac orbs turned into tiny slits as their owner provided the blond with a sunshine beam. "I came to visit, of course, Naruto-kun~"

"I'm not entering into any silly shit you have cooking, Neji, just to be clear."

"How rude! I don't always visit because I want you to do something!"

"Yes, you do. The first time, it was a cooking show, then a cooking tournament, then helping a friend opening his restaurant. Oh! I can't forget the time when you forced me to help out at that funeral. And in every single time, I come out dead tired, with a disease and zero cash!"

"Naru –"

"Whatever you're thinking of me doing, it's a NO!" Naruto interrupted, not wishing to be coaxed into any disaster. "My restaurant is already shorthanded; I can't tolerate getting into anything for you this time around."

The charmer named Neji flipped his silky hair – causing Naruto to roll his eyes at the other's pride – and smirked to his host. "My visit this time is different; I'm actually going to provide you with someone to help around the restaurant."

"You want me to hire a criminal again?"

The dark brown haired male shook his head with a wince. "Do allow bygones to be bygones, and he's not. I assure you he's worth your time and is very hard working."

"Last time you said that about a guy, immigration continued investigating my staff for three whole weeks, Neji."

"Sorry about that, it was a miscalculation on my part, but this time, he's clean, Naruto." The brunet apologized with all sincerity.

"I stopped trusting you with anything a long time ago, you damn patisserie."

"Naruto-kun, he's really a good kid," Neji defended, already trying to make the other understand that this time wouldn't be like the others. "You know best how important it is to give a second chance. If I could, I'd have hired him in my shop. Yet these days I have a lot on my plate and I can't add him to the equation."

"Then he's trouble."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly when a true, one-in-a-life smile stretched onto his old colleague's face and suddenly his interest was caught with their conversation. Hyuuga Neji, the handsome patisserie, was one of the few males who he had made a bond with in culinary school. They had taken different courses and agreed only on simple aspects of cooking, but both were able to warm up to the other, their contradictories were the thing that brought them close.

Naruto knew Neji to be a proud patisserie, someone who held an iron grip on the business that he strove so hard to achieve. From the knowledge he had of the other, he knew that Neji came from a well-off family, one of the lead pioneers in the field of pastries.

Unlike him who was raised in a modest home and grew to love cooking by watching his father, the brunet was fond of pastries because it was the first thing he laid his eyes on. Neji had went to the best schools of culinary and achieved the best skills in the world, making a fine name for himself amongst other chefs. However, the beautiful male, who was just as appealing as his sweets, had refused his family's fortune and started his business from scratch.

Still, with his natural charisma, business oriented thinking and the bless his name had paved for him, he was able to establish himself early on in the road. Naruto was left to struggle with the small task of managing a simple restaurant.

Neji was also able to control – to some extent – what Naruto liked to refer to as _the underworld_. The patisserie wasn't just a magnet for high corporations, but also for lowlife criminals. To Naruto's dismay, his friend appealed to that world more than the rightful path. Something about the darkness pulled his attention more than the shining lights and from time to time, he was forced into helping out criminals that were better left to rot on the streets.

The blond chef would have no problem with his friend's extra job, had it not involved him. Neji would, at times, request his aid; it started off innocently, and then escalated to condemned runaways and death-row criminals. That was when he drew the line and inflexibly stated that he didn't want to participate anymore. It was a statement that Neji took with light-hearted emotions… still, from time to time, he'd come to Naruto with something small that seemed harmless and with the goodness of his heart, the blond would accept.

Yet this time, he firmly stood his ground.

"You'd like him, Naruto, so give him a chance to work for you."

"Neji, you're my friend and I have helped you every time you asked, but I can't house a criminal anymore. Take him to another place; you know a lot of people who would do the world for you."

"Yes, I do. However, you're the only one I trust. Naruto," the brunet heaved a sigh and countered with a gentle tone Naruto had yet to hear. "I don't want to leave him to them, if he worked in your restaurant, I'm sure he will remain on the bright side of life… but if he went to them, there's no guarantee he won't revolve to his old self –"

"Old self?" Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. "What old self?"

Neji smiled comfortably and continued. "It's the past; you don't need to concern yourself with it. Just know that he's a _really_ good kid, but had bad, _very_ bad situations. Those situations had him turn way from the path his parents set for him… if you want me to beg, I will, but please… allow him a second chance to start over and regain his future."

The blond chef was silenced by the strength of Neji's words and the determination behind them. It was his first time seeing him like that… seeing Neji willing to let go of his pride for the sake of another human. He wasn't that cold-hearted not to do this favor when his friend was asking with all his might.

Blowing the air inside his lung, Naruto scratched his head. "Alright, I'll allow him to work for me. Tell him to come by tomorrow at the restaurant and I'll test him to see where he should work."

Neji's whole face glowed with vibrations of happiness causing Naruto to roll his eyes and munch on the crème brulée. "Wonderful~ I knew you'd see it my way. Tomorrow morning he'd be at your front door~ Oh and, Naruto, he's a jack of all trades, master of none, but he likes cooking, so if you could give him chores in the kitchen area that would be best."

"I'll test him and see." The blond repeated his words again as he stood up to take the cups to the kitchen, having finished with them. "Was there anything else you needed?"

"Hmm… no, just this." Neji followed the blond and was about to declare his departure when something else rang at the back of his mind and, with a hand under his chin, he enquired. "Naruto-kun, who was the gentleman who opened the door for me?"

Naruto closed the tap on the running water and tilted his head at the odd question. "Why?"

"…I have this feeling that I've seen him before, but I just can't pinpoint where."

"Hmm… you haven't been coming to the restaurant lately so I don't think you had seen him there."

"Yeah I don't think so, as well. Anyhow, what's his name?"

"Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke."

In a matter of seconds, Neji's orbs widened the size of an orange. He blinked and furrowed his brows. "Uchiha Sasuke? From Uchiha corp.?"

Naruto turned around and blinked back. "Uchiha corp.? What's that?"

"…"

When it was obvious that the patisserie wasn't about to grace him with an answer, the blond continued. "I don't know if he's from this corporation you ask of or not, but Sasuke is a regular at my restaurant. Due to some circumstances, he and I are now in… umm… a business friendship?" he offered with a cheesy smile.

Neji nodded at the explanation and put on his hat. "It's fine, if he's the one I'm thinking of, I'll remember and if he's not, then it's no problem. Anyhow, I need to take my leave now, be well."

Before Neji was out of the door, the blond chef called out. "Have him come with some of your infamous tiramisu."

"Will do~! "

Naruto walked over and locked his front door. He ran a hand through his hair and flopped onto the bed. He couldn't stop his nostrils from taking a deep inhale of the pillows that held Sasuke's cologne and mentally, he hit himself at that behavior, which was paving his stalking career. Naruto turned onto his back to decrease the temptation and sighed. Actually he'd taken this day to be his off day – since he did a lot of work the previous night – and wanted to spend it with Sasuke… but now, with the raven haired male's sudden disappearance, he had to find something else to keep him entertained.

"Arghh…"

The chef moaned his agony for no one to hear.

* * *

"I want it now."

Naruto blinked at the pale hand holding his wrist and gulped his sudden nervousness down. He tried to writhe his hand free, but the grip was too tight for him to be able to shake. With a rather astonished tone, he tried to persuade the other.

"Sasuke –"

"Give me your cell phone number!"

The blond felt his words shatter inside his mind with the demand the other male made, but before his heart could race his mind to his tongue, a cough echoed from behind them and a bothered looking Sakura showed up. With an eye to their jointed hands, she clearly demonstrated with a loud cough.

" _Sir_ and _sir_ , if you please may, these types of actions are best suited to the privacy of your own homes, not in the wide open."

Naruto pulled his hand away and tautened up his slouched form. He sent his best friend slash waitress an apologetic look and, taking her advice, helped Sasuke to the inside of his kitchen rather than standing outside of the restaurant talking. Once in, he took a deep breath and commented.

"Sasuke, what were you thinking? You can't shout like that in the restaurant."

The raven haired male retrieved his hold on Naruto's hand, hauling the chef's attention to it as he exclaimed. "I don't care. Give me your number!"

Feeling like his head was about to explode from the closeness Sasuke was forcing onto him, Naruto pushed the other away, trying his hardest to regain his initial poker face.

"Sasuke, please, relax and tell me what happened. Why do you need my number so suddenly?"

The raven haired male furrowed his brows as his eyes looked at the ground. He bit his lower lip and the chef saw the distress coating his features. When those lips did nothing but seal shut, Naruto pulled out Sasuke's cell from his pocket and inserted his contact information. He had no idea what was wrong, but if Sasuke was this determined on getting his phone number, he would gladly give it.

"There. You have it. Now, did you calm down even a little?"

Sasuke flipped through his list of names and sure enough, the name of _Uzumaki Naruto_ was placed amidst his other acquaintances. He put the phone inside his pocket and looked the chef straight in the eyes. "Yes, this will do. Now we'll always be connected. Thank you."

Naruto really tried to stay passive and not take those words to heart, but being the true idiot he was, he allowed them safe passage, causing a faint flush to appear on his cheeks. Not wanting to be discovered with his sinister crush, the chef was able to maintain his normal tone.

"Well, that's nothing to be thanked for… really…"

Yet, the way he was fidgeting was probably giving him away. Sasuke allowed a sigh to leave his lips and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry I sounded like a crazy person, but… no matter what, we needed to be connected. It won't work unless we are."

This time, staying nonchalant was hard; because those words were just making him fly higher to heaven. Naruto's face matched the quickening beats of his heart as blood moved to all the wrong places, robbing him his privacy.

"Your face is red," Sasuke remarked a second later, but before Naruto could stumble out an excuse, the handsome businessman furrowed his brows and asked wearily. "Do you have a fever?"

"…Huh?"

The blond wasn't given time to retreat as Sasuke brought their foreheads together in a matter of seconds. The tips of their noses were touching, only a few inches separated their lips from joining. When the husky tone of Sasuke rang with a simple question, Naruto's gaze was drawn to those rosy lips.

"You're getting redder and your temperature is rising. Sure you're okay?"

This time, Naruto's senses woke up and he removed the pale hands on his cheeks, before pushing Sasuke away. "P-Perfectly fine … you just stay t-there… Sasuke."

Sasuke blinked at the stuttering mess but allowed the chef his space. He watched Naruto turn around, splash water on his face and then face him again. His brain was providing _'fever'_ as a rightful justification for the bizarre behavior his cook was conducting. Sensing guilt pile up at the pit he called a stomach, the handsome male spoke the first thing that came to mind.

"Was it me?"

Naruto dried his face with one of the towels in the kitchen and questioned. "…Excuse me?"

"The fever, did I give it to you?"

"What fever?"

Sasuke pointed to the water that was just splashed. "You tried to cool your head with water, hence the fever."

The blond sighed and rubbed his head, trying to search for a simple way to get it through to Sasuke – that he wasn't sick and the only thing he'd given him was increase his heartbeat – but knowing that the idiot was more stubborn than he was, he chose his words carefully.

"Look, Sasuke, I don't have a fever and I wasn't even all that close to you for you to give me a fever, so stop that train of thought. I splashed because I got a little dizzy… I'm the type that keeps the least minimum human touch, you know." He used a little white lie as an escape route.

When the words finally sank in, Sasuke sufficed with a single musical tone. "Oh."

"Yeah, so stop presuming things."

The raven haired male nodded and shifted to something else. "…I don't have work tomorrow, so I can wait for you to finish your shift then we can go back home together."

Naruto allowed a gentle smile to show as he shook his head, denying Sasuke's request. In fact, he was delighted that Sasuke was referring to his house as _'home'_ , but if he needed to clarify the feelings he was feeling, he needed to start separating this closeness they were forming.

"Yes, but you've been working very hard lately and it's better for you to get some rest. You can come by tomorrow afternoon for lunch; I'll be waiting for you then. So tonight go home and sleep."

"Boss, Sai-senpai is asking if you want the salad mixed in with the tuna or to just leave it as a decoration."

The nonchalant tone was followed by the door to the kitchen closing shut, cutting the two's conversation and robbing Sasuke of his chance to provide his opinion. A tall, rather casual looking redhead waltzed into the little area of the kitchen his boss was hiding in, paying no attention to the heat in the air. He looked with green, sharp eyes to the intruding male and didn't flinch when Sasuke glared back.

"Oh, I'm coming now. Tell him not to touch anything, when Sai deals with tuna, the results are never appealing."

The tall redhead nodded his comprehension and disappeared to the busy area of the kitchen, not bothering to spare the Uchiha a glance or a second of his day. Naruto shortly introduced the teen who was gone faster than he could even pronounce his name.

"He's our new help, Gaara. Though he seems a bit scary, he's very fast with his hands and was a big help to us."

Sasuke gave a curt nod and turned his back to the chef. "You are busy now, I'll return later."

The blond didn't know if _'I'll return later'_ meant that he'd wait for him or simply, leave and come the next morning. Even more than that, he was still uncertain as to why Sasuke had been so keen on getting his number. Nonetheless, the minute he stepped inside the kitchen, his mind converted to business and everything about Sasuke revolted to the little box labeled ‘ _crush-issues’_ , which didn't stand a chance against the frilly passion he held for food.

* * *

**Thank you for reading and I hope to read your comments~ :D**


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura placed her chin on the end of her mop and, allowed her features to relax into a smile. With her jade eyes, she followed the new addition to their team, Sabaku Gaara, as he bustled around the kitchen. When Naruto had sprung the new worker on them, she'd had her doubts; upon learning that he was recommended by Hyuuga Neji, said doubts had turned into a determined refusal. She'd been firm against allowing him to work, reminding Naruto of the eventful disasters the patisserie had brought on their cozy restaurant time and time before. However, regardless of her objections, Naruto had permitted the redhead to remain. At the very least, he had honored her concerns by making the male a trainee capable of being fired at the smallest mistake.

Her vision turned to the gleaming windows, moving to the chairs and tables that had been aliened seamlessly and finally, alighting on the silverwares shinning with excellence. She was glad that Naruto hadn't listened to her demurrals that day. Gaara had turned out to be the perfect worker. Sakura wasn't even exaggerating. The guy would arrive before the agreed time and start his tasks. Even though he was huge, his fingers were delicate; he had a knack for precision very few could rival.

Sakura observed the redhead as he folded the napkins in a swan fashion, and continued on to his next mission. It reminded her of another good quality the redhead had: his photographic memory. She had demonstrated the swan style only once since his hiring, and yet the redhead's amazing memory was able to reconstruct it before her eyes. The pink haired beauty had always thought _'photographic memory'_ to be a myth that existed in novels and detective stories. Sabaku Gaara, however, had proven her wrong.

Sakura looked at the area she was supposed to mop with a sigh. She had yet to finish a single meter, whereas Gaara had finished his assigned area and proceeded to the bathrooms. At this rate, her own job would be stolen by the perfect criminal.

"Forehead, why are you gawking at the new kid? He's younger than you, you know." A long-haired blonde blocked Sakura's vision and continued with a mocking tone. "Or are your eyes picking up on kids' radar these days~?"

Sakura felt a vein throb at the loathed nickname and sent a glare to her forever archenemy. "I.N.O! Shut your damn mouth, you ugly cow!"

"Look who's talking, haven't you seen your shiny forehead in the mirror, hah, _Forehead_?"

"That's it! You're dead!"

As the pink-haired waitress discarded her cleaning duties to silence her guffaws with the mop she was supposed to use for floors, Ino burst into a fit of laughter. _'But then again, Ino's mouth was far dirtier than the floor could ever aspire to be'_ , was Sakura's thought as she chased the blonde throughout the restaurant.

Upon hearing the crazy laughter and the senseless death threats from the front hall, Naruto left his office and emerged with a frown on his face. Looking at his staff, he groaned out a question: "What's going on here?"

Sakura pouted at her friend's authoritative tone and pointed to her elementary school companion. "It's all Ino's fault!"

"Why do you two need to always behave like oil and water?"

"Because _Forehead_ here wants a fight," Ino replied with a smirk.

"Hag, shut it!"

Naruto released a sigh. "Alright, listen up, I don't care if you want to strangle each other to death, but do it on your own time. In here, I'd be happy if you acted like total strangers."

Ino flipped her golden locks at him and moved away, swinging her perfect figure. "You don't need to tell me; I was minding my business before she stepped in."

The vein inside Sakura's forehead was about to burst, but her pride didn't allow her to be railed on any further. Not giving Ino the satisfaction of knowing that her words had hit their mark, she 'hmphed' and went back to work. Naruto was grateful that they both respected him enough to stop quarreling, and actually focus on getting some work done; if only all his employee were like the new hire.

His cerulean orbs checked the clock; it read 8:30 AM. There was still a long time for lunch to come, which meant a long time until he would get to see Sasuke. Since that night, when the businessman had demanded his phone number with such force, Naruto hadn't heard from him. It'd been close to three days. He could have called to check on him, but the chef was still reeling in embarrassment. He hated how he was acting like a schoolgirl in love, but he was still too awkward to ignore the lingering flustered state of his being. Besides, Sasuke would most probably be cooped up with work somewhere.

So there was no need to worry over three missed days.

Naruto cheered himself up with those words and an anticipation for lunch time. Sasuke would most definitely be at the restaurant. He'd missed his mid-day meal for three days, but there was no way he'd miss it again. As he returned back to his office to continue balancing the books, the blond prayed that time would move quicker than usual.

* * *

The sunglasses covering his eyes did nothing to blind the sparkles before his vision. Uzumaki Naruto gulped down the sudden nervousness that crept into his insides, then checked his cell again. The address on the plate of the fancy traditional styled mansion matched the one in his cell. However, he didn't understand what Sasuke was doing inside. Nonetheless, there was only one way to find out. Looking at the food he was carrying, Naruto summed up his courage and pressed the bell.

He could stand there and think all he wanted, but unless he took action, the questions he wanted answered would never be. Three seconds later, through the intercom, came a voice that was very familiar to his ears.

"Naruto? Is that you?"

The blond blinked at the odd tone, he didn't know if the other could see him or not, so he voiced his answer. "Yes… i-it's me."

"Wait… I'll open the door."

Not a minute later, the big wooden door creaked open. The chef had expected Sasuke's form to greet him, but an old man wearing a Yukata met his sight. Naruto blinked and was about to ask for Sasuke's whereabouts when the man bowed for him to enter the estate. Thinking that it would be faster and more efficient to see for himself, he awkwardly bowed back and stepped inside. The place was as vast as it looked from the outside and quiet beautiful, as well.

For a good look, the blond took off his sunglasses and allowed his eyes to wander. The house appeared just like the ones shown on his old TV set: a mansion of a famous person or the traditional documentary estates that some Japanese icons used to live in. Getting further inside, his eyes were enchanted with the huge garden they were walking through. Beautiful trees with different shades and degrees of adornment showed before his sight. Naruto had never been more curious about Sasuke's background as he was that instant.

Just who was Uchiha Sasuke?

From the look of it, he was a rich young master, but so many questions came after that one sentence. Why would a rich businessman come to such a remote restaurant as his, let alone demand that he couldn't stomach anyone's cooking besides his? If Sasuke was really that rich, he could get people far better than him as his chefs – he probably grew up eating nothing but fancy stuff… maybe the whole setup was a mockery the male was playing on him, and the grand finale where he'd expose his plan to Naruto was upon him.

The chef shook his head and removed the influence of Sakura from his brain. Sasuke wasn't like that. There should be an explanation to all this. Clutching the food he'd prepared tightly, he allowed the old man to guide him further inside. Naruto walked so much his feet started complaining and, just when he was about to ask where he was being led to, the man stopped before two sets of sliding doors.

"This is the young master's room; he's been expecting you."

Naruto gulped past the unexpected fork in his throat, then thanked the retreating man. Before he entered the room, he knocked three times. What answered him were sets of coughs and sneezes. Frowning, he slid the door with a loud comment that he was coming inside. He was met with a congested, dark room that had nothing but the bare essentials. His vision suffered in the dimness of the space and he was unable to make the shapes out properly. As a result, he took to searching for a light switch. Luckily, there was one next to his shoulder. Pressing it allowed light to flood the room, he was able to get a good look at the space for the first time since his arrival. There was a queen sized bed on the far left side of the room, and black hair stuck out from beneath its heavy sets of blankets.

The chef put the food on the glassy table on his right and walked towards the bed. There was no motion coming from Sasuke and gracefully, he sat down next to the mountain of blankets.

"I was wondering what had happened to you these past days… so you were sick."

Slowly, the covers were removed and a set of blood-shut eyes faced him. Naruto gave a gentle smile to the disheveled sick Sasuke and couldn't stop himself from extending a hand and trying to fix all the hair that had strayed from its rightful position. Sasuke offered a tired smile of his own and spoke, voice already changed with the cold.

"I'm glad you're here."

"Well, after reading your message I had to." Naruto fetched his cell and rolled his eyes at the _'ASAP! GET HERE!_ ' message with the address put under it. "Next time, please call or send a less alarming message."

"...Sorry, but I haven't eaten for three days and I'm very hungry."

As if on cue, Naruto brought over the soup he'd prepared and placed it on the nightstand. He helped Sasuke into a sitting position, before he fixed the soup in his hands. "Be my guest. I went with a simple chicken soup this time. Had I known you were sick, I'd have made something more nutritious."

The raven shook his head and started eating. If anyone saw the way he was gulping the soup down, they'd think that he was actually enjoying the meal. Though, watching Sasuke eat, the chef asked something that puzzled him.

"Sasuke, why haven't you been eating? Of course you don't taste food, but you were sick and you had to eat to regain your health. So why not?"

"I couldn't," the Uchiha explained, taking a second to answer. "I wanted to eat, but my stomach would reject anything I put in it. I was fed through an IV for a while, but like I thought, your food is the only thing that I don't hate."

Naruto's heart thumped with those words and a grin spread across his face. "Well thank you very much then, my food is glad you're not throwing it up."

"Hn."

Until Sasuke was able to finish the whole meal, Naruto stayed silent and simply observed. Today, he wasn't expecting a review from the sick raven haired male. Even if Sasuke was able to distinguish the flavors, with the cold running amok on his senses, they won't be trusted all that well. Taking the soup away once it was finished, Naruto asked with all causality.

"So, you're a rich young master?"

Hazy eyes looked at him as the businessman laid back on his bed, before nodding, which proved to be a bad idea as his head started buzzing with the headache and the congestion. Seeing as how the other was too tired to talk or acknowledge his existence, the chef packed everything he had and planned on making his exit. Right now, he could shower Sasuke with all the questions that needed answers, but the raven haired male was in no position to open his eyes, let alone think and formulate words. The best thing for Naruto to do was leave. A shuffle from the exhausted man had him focus his attention and Naruto decided to ask instead of leaving without a word.

"Do you need me to leave?"

"…Hmm… no. Stay here."

Well, he was given an answer, but even if he stayed, there was nothing for him to do. His brain knew that he should decline and leave, that he should allow Sasuke time to sleep and maintain his health. However, his body was already putting down the objects in hand and making himself comfortable on Sasuke's bed. Really… how silly… he knew better.

"Alright."

Naruto's eyes widened when a pale hand came to hold his, followed by a nasal voice saying.

"Thank you for coming, the meal was nice."

His cheeks colored slightly and the chef nodded. He gave the hand a small squeeze of his own, before beaming. "You're welcome, it's my job."

Sasuke seemed to drift off after that, probably due to the medications pumped into him, Naruto just sat there. Feet on the bed, he allowed their linked hands to join for a little bit more before letting go. To him, there was nothing wrong with taking the little bits of pleasures coming his way, for no one knew when the next time would present itself.

* * *

Sasuke removed the stray locks away from his face and tried to sit upright. His head felt dizzy, but his stomach was killing him. Not being able to withstand it anymore, he hurried to the bathroom and threw up the insides of his pit in three seconds. He washed up after and felt a sense of relief come over him. Throwing up was doing him a world of good, even if it was a disgusting action. A part of him felt bad about puking up Naruto's food, but due to the fever and the cold, it was very hard to keep anything in anyhow.

Returning to his bed, he just noticed the blond chef spread on it and sleeping soundly. Tip-toeing so as not to wake Naruto up, Sasuke sat crunched on the ground and looked at him.

Why did he send that text asking Naruto to come? Why did he want Naruto to know more about him? The energetic chef was like a strong wind that blew past his icy world. All his life, he had done what he was supposed to do. He lived his life like he should, did what was expected of him and never went out of his way to get something that he didn't need. Yes, his life was about _'need'_ , not _'want'_. He needed his job, he needed his house and he needed food. He lived for the basics. He'd never seen anything wrong with that. However, seeing Naruto's way of life led to a feeling he had never expected to experience: jealousy.

The blond loved cooking, loved his humble apartment and loved food. He didn't do his job because he needed to, but because he wanted to. Naruto seemed to be living while he, Sasuke, was simply functioning.

Maybe that was the reason he wanted to get closer to him, the reason he wanted to see what it felt like, to be that dedicated, that blissful and happy. To work your hardest on something that you love… at this point, he doubted there was anything that made him feel like that – like cooking made Naruto feel – but maybe enjoying food was a step in the right direction. Maybe with Naruto's aid, the day when he'd be able to eat and compliment the deliciousness of the meal would come… maybe.

A sneeze had him search for his tissues. Blowing his nose, the raven haired male noticed a pair of azure, shining orbs looking at him. He was a bit startled but fortunately for him, his poker face showed nothing. Naruto sat up and rubbed his eyes, the fleeting thought of how similar to a small fox or a cat the chef looked came to Sasuke's head. He allowed the adjective _'cute'_ to link with the blond and spoke.

"Hi."

"Hi," Naruto mimicked, stifling a yawn. "What time is it?"

Sasuke looked at the clock on the wall and answered. "Eleven thirty at night."

Upon hearing the time, Naruto exclaimed with startled eyes. "Oh God! I slept for straight eight hours!"

As the blond banged his head on the mattress – showing Sasuke how missing eight hours was a big deal to him –, Sasuke reasoned with a smile. "It's not that bad… did you have work?"

"No…" stopping his fit to answer back, Naruto groaned. "But I missed the last train now. How am I supposed to return home?"

"You can just stay over."

Tempting as it was, the blond cheerfully rejected. "I can't. I have to get up real early tomorrow. It's my turn to open the restaurant, you see."

"Isn't there anyone who can open it for you?"

"It's not a problem of someone else doing it – it's my turn. We all have turns for whom opens up the restaurant like I'd told you, Sakura opened it today, so I have to do it tomorrow, get it?"

Sasuke shifted in his position, choosing to rely on his buttocks more in sitting comfortably. "How about I drive you then?"

"You're sick." The chef countered easily. "Any minute you can spare you should invest in getting better."

"Then my chauffer will drive you." When a look of uncertainty showed on Naruto's face, Sasuke added quickly. "He'll drop you away from the restaurant and your apartment if you dislike people seeing you –"

"That's not what I –"

"Naruto, you realize that I'm practically _begging_ you to stay the night, right?"

The affirmative tone mixed with those hazy black orbs, and the way the silky locks were falling over Sasuke's eyes made Naruto's heart skip a beat. He didn't want to stay over because he promised himself lesser time with Sasuke, lesser time so he could get these feelings in line and remember what he was and what was appropriate. He needed to detach himself before he woke up and found himself too addicted to having Sasuke with him… which was what scared him the most lately.

But… Sasuke was begging him. How could he refuse such a charming request? The blond made up his mind, going with the silly notion that a simple night wouldn't affect their current status at all. His insides laughed at his hypocrisy and, ignoring their snickers, Naruto voiced a riposte.

"…I don't think it's a good idea, but I'll stay over, we can't refuse a begging Sasuke, now can we?"

Sasuke released a nod to answer his beam. "No, you cannot."

"Well then, let me wash up to get this fatigue out of my body, I feel like an old man."

The raven haired male pointed to the bathroom to their left, Naruto made his way there. Once inside, his eyes widened at the fancy luxury, but in less than a second, he got used to it. This whole place looked like it was brought out of a magazine, so by now nothing he saw – no matter how expensive or attractive – was going to startle him. This was how rich folks lived, in heaven on Earth.

Quickly, he took off his outfit, sprayed himself with soup and washed thoroughly. He didn't take much time in an effort to prevent his mind from wandering to places it shouldn't. Naruto finished in less than fifteen minutes and, when the notion of what he was going to wear hit him, he found a bath robe placed neatly behind the curtains – yes, the bathroom had curtains. The chef put it on and, after drying his locks, came out of the fancy bathroom feeling refreshed to the bone.

He found Sasuke already sobered up fully with a coffee in hand. The handsome male gestured for Naruto to come and sit next to him on the bed. The blond felt a bit uncomfortable, since he was still naked under the robe, but obliged nonetheless.

"How was the bath?" Sasuke asked when Naruto had finally sat down.

"Good… but you do realize I'm naked right now."

Not being one to like discomfort, Naruto had decided to talk and voice his current ordeal. Sasuke rolled his eyes at his chef and pointed to a wall that had been turned into a huge closet.

"I'd have prepared it for you, but I'm too tired to move. So you go and pick whatever you feel like wearing."

Not a second after that comment, Naruto was beside the closet, ruffling through the rows of pajamas to find something suitable for him to wear. Sadly, everything seemed to go from black to navy blue and dark green. All the shades were gloomy and bleak, nothing lively or flattering. Sighing at the poor color choices he was provided with, Naruto picked something blue and pulled it out. He took a pair of washed boxers with it and closed the closet behind him. Walking to a corner of the room where Sasuke's eyes wouldn't see him, the shy blond changed quickly.

He came to Sasuke's viewfinder and threw himself onto the bed. Noticing the flowery smell, he guessed the raven haired male had the sheets changed when he was in the bathroom. The businessman had already finished his coffee and crawled his way to Naruto's side.

"I'm glad you're enjoying this."

"Well, the clothes are comfortable and since I've taken a bath now, I feel more relaxed, but there's a problem now." His eyebrows furrowed.

"What?"

Sasuke gazed at him with greyish black orbs, sending tingles of electricity all over the blond's body. Right now, Sasuke was looming over him; it felt like everything was standing still. However, Naruto couldn't read his expression. It gave way to no emotion whatsoever. The blond didn't even know how he was reflected in those eyes he loved so much, or how Sasuke thought of him. But he knew his emotions were getting stronger, if the thumping in his chest was anything to go by.

The minute he started feeling emotions of like towards the raven haired male, he'd felt his perception to Sasuke's gestures and signs alter. A simple smile would mean more than normal, a touch to his hand would make him believe Sasuke felt something back. Maybe he was simply glorifying a nonexistent emotion to make himself feel better, or Sasuke was truly leading him on, but nonetheless, the way Sasuke was looking at him made his hopes soar.

Regardless of what was true or not, in that moment, his head was forced to take a break as his heart ruled his body. Moving his lips, he whispered a soft reply.

"…I don't feel sleepy anymore."

A devilish smile appeared on Sasuke's face after that and a glint on his eyes. "Well then, I guess it won't hurt to practice a little exercise."

Naruto didn't know what took over him but the next thing he realized, he was cupping Sasuke's cheek and kissing his tender lips softly. It started as a simple peck, then slowly escalated to something more. A hot dance inside Sasuke mouth had started. At first, Naruto thought the raven haired male didn't welcome the unexpected intrusion; however, when pale hands took his locks in their grip, he continued his call of intimacy.

Naruto could sense how hard it was for Sasuke to kiss back due to his cold, but losing himself with the unexpected opportunity, he didn't care if he got sick over this.

As Naruto's kisses started becoming more on the passionate side, Sasuke smiled at the hungry beast attacking him and pulled on his hair. A moan escaped Naruto's lips at the sudden pain, but the handsome male paid it no attention and continued pulling at the soft, golden locks. As if to portray his dismay, Naruto moved from ravishing Sasuke's tongue to nipping on his lips. The pressure on them caused the businessman to let his grip loosen on Naruto's hair as he enjoyed the rush of pleasure.

His nose was clogged and he was sure they were ignoring the fact that he was sick greatly. His excitement was controlling his senses; no amount of bacteria would be able to hold him now. Sasuke's pale hand went down to cup Naruto's manhood. A yelp left Naruto's mouth as he backed up, startled by the sudden touch. Sasuke smirked at him and allowed stray locks to decorate his face in a sexy manner, before he opened his mouth and seductively urged.

"Come."

Pink lips turned red as Naruto bit them to try and suppress his desire. But Sasuke's pose did nothing to ease that, worse actually; his dick was painfully standing erect and disobeying his control. When long, pale fingers went from calling him to come forth and dug under his blue pants, the chef threw his last control out the window and jumped on the black eyed male.

It didn't take a minute, before he was vigorously rubbing his dick on Sasuke's fingers inside. The businessman had to hold Naruto down not to rub them limp. The blond was forced to take a deep breath then relax onto the bed. At this point, as the attractive Sasuke was pulling their clothes off properly, Naruto was lost in dizziness of enchantment. Never did he think he would be able to look, let alone _touch_ , Sasuke like this. His head was still trying to wrap on this little development. What was the other thinking inviting him further like this? What was he planning on doing? And what should he do about it all?

More questions like those were circling his head, Sasuke's actions did nothing to justify them. It was as if the black haired male was giving him special treatment but at the same time not. The chef didn't know why it didn't set well with him, but as Sasuke's member came into view, a lid was put firmly on that line of thinking and his instinct took over.

Naruto gulped as his nervousness finally descended on him. He extended his tan hand to take hold of Sasuke's semi-erect penis. He had no idea what to do. It was his first time coming in physical contact with another man's manhood. So far, even his dreams didn't go there. Hence he had no data on what he should be performing. However, Sasuke was a man himself, so what made him feel good should also employ on Sasuke… right?

Going with that notion, the chef began with a tender movement. Sasuke didn't seem to be all that against his technique so Naruto took a little bit of faith in himself. Shifting to a more rhythmic motion, the blond brought his lips close to Sasuke's and kissed him senseless. The businessman wasn't about to be defeated and with his pale hand, he made a grip towards Naruto's urethra. A jolt of unexpected sensation went through Naruto's spine and he swore he saw stars dancing before his sight.

A chuckle left Sasuke's mouth and a blush inflamed on Naruto's face. He knew he was being teased, but how could he fabricate his reactions!? He was only human.

Trying to stop that evil smirk, Naruto picked up speed on his technique, taking a minute to appreciate the way pre-cum was glazing Sasuke's slightly dark penis. It felt so slick and long. With every thrust, Sasuke's hips would follow. How many women were satisfied with that hard dick? Naruto wondered silently, but stopped as he knew if he continued down that road, he would probably lose his erection. The pale male seemed to know his way around a woman, judging by the way he was treating Naruto's moves as games and nothing more – something that frustrated the chef a bit.

Not long after, Sasuke forced him to lay on his back as he straddled his hips and sat seductively between his legs. He took Naruto's hand and linked it with his own as he worked a rhythm with both their cocks. Moving up and down, up and down, up and down. Sasuke pushed his hair backwards and came down on Naruto's body. He started nipping and biting around one dark nipple, releasing series of moans from the other's lips.

They had to take a little pause as Sasuke's runny nose had to be wiped with a tissue. Though the view could have made Naruto lose his hard cock, he still thought his crush was handsome.

Sasuke's voice wasn't alien to the room, since with every rub between their joint members, his moans of ecstasy will ring melodic bells inside Naruto's ears. Black hair tickled Naruto's neck and, just when he was about to force his teeth on that pale nape tempting him and tell Sasuke to move faster, the raven haired man squeezed hard on Naruto's urethra and his dick throbbed.

A second later, he came all over their stomachs. Sasuke's smirk didn't last long; because while continuing to pump his hand up and down, Naruto pressed hard on his balls sack, forcing Sasuke to follow in his stead and robbing him of the chance to gloat. The businessman spurt all over Naruto and the sheets, dirtying them both. Naruto had to close his eyes not to get a shot in them, when he felt Sasuke go limb on top of him, he opened them and had to force his blush to die down.

The heat radiating from the body above him made him feel just how much alive he truly was. Sasuke's naked form smeared in cum was one thing, but that heavenly satisfied expression made him wish they'd continue onto round two. So before his expectations took him anywhere strange, he got up and only whispered a small sentence, after which he fled away from the view of the male he'd just tasted.

"I'll go wash up now."

* * *

It was morning, and Naruto wanted to leave the minute he woke up; however, opening his eyes to find a butler smiling politely at his naked body had him cover up in a split second, trying to stifle his embarrassment. What happened after seemed like a blur, he was still in a grey area about where he stood with Sasuke and really wanted to clear everything up – however, the butler and the group of maids, raiding behind him, forbade his mind to think of anything as they attacked him head on.

The next thing he knew, he was sitting on a chair, in a garden, being served hot tea while his soul slowly left his body. Yes… he was forced into a bath, a new set of clothes and, to his dismay, a new hairdo that screamed diligence.

Once their job of serving and attending to Naruto has been done, the butler and the maids accompanying him left the blond with a respectful bow. Being too dazed, Naruto didn't even notice when they were out of his visual field. Not a minute later, a polished Sasuke was walking to sit on the opposite side of the round, shiny table. He was functioning as if he wasn't on the brink of death the night before.

Having his soul finally return from oblivion to his humbled body, Naruto directed fierce eyes to the sole perpetrator of his agony. "You!"

Sasuke picked up a vanilla cupcake and merely blinked with innocence. "Me?"

"You ordered them to do that!" The chef hit his hands on the table in an attempt to show how dissatisfied he was with the treatment.

"What you call _'that'_ , people pay money to get."

"No one would pay to get themselves violated!"

Munching on the cupcake and trying not to show distaste when it hit his buds, Sasuke concentrated on a retort to the angry blond.

"Well, they do. I ordered them to make you clean and presentable and that they did, so what's the problem? You should be thanking me instead of howling like a wolf so early in the morning."

Naruto's eyes smoked at the cool manner he was spoken to. It felt like the other truly thought there was nothing wrong with a bunch of people giving him a bath like he was five. "Do you think I'm paralyzed or something? I can take care of my own self."

"…No one said you couldn't, it's just that –" The raven haired male was about to say something, then shifted his opinion and came right out to say it, because if he kept beating around the bush, the idiot before him would only get further away from catching up with his real intentions. "Look, truth is, I did it to save time. Precisely, _your_ time."

Blinking at the unexpected response, Naruto mimicked. "What do you mean my time?"

The businessman took a sip from the English tea he was having, cringing when the aroma filled his insides. "You surely haven't forgotten our little exercise last night, and I do recall you saying clearly how you need to be home opening the restaurant early today, so I believed that you, being the idiot you are, would spend a lot of time wondering about what we did and why it had happened; a single bath will stretch on to three or four hours. So I ordered my staff to get it all done so you'd be able to get to your restaurant on time."

Naruto's face was caught in a sea of red flames. He had no idea what expression he should be showing – irritation for being thought of as an idiot who'd think too much upon things, embarrassment that Sasuke mentioned their activity last night so nonchalantly during breakfast, or happiness that the object of his affections thought of him so dearly that he paid attention to something as fleeting as his functionality. Naruto was bashful to his own feelings, but the other male was waiting for him to show a reaction, so he forcibly decided upon one.

Looking away from those piercing black orbs, the chef mumbled audibly: "…T-Thank you."

A smile stretched on Sasuke's features and he gave back a response. "You're welcome."

Thinking it's best to shift to another topic and forget this whole situation, Naruto asked. "So, how's your cold now?"

Seeing as how Naruto was trying a new topic, Sasuke went with the flow. "It's gotten better. I think I'm almost cured."

The cook countered, scowling at the words. "That's good, but still be careful, you were really smashed yesterday."

"…Don't worry about it, I don't catch colds easily." Sasuke was about to say something about their late night sexual activity, but chose to brush aside the other male's warning.

A smirk came to show on Naruto's face. "Yeah, idiots don't catch colds."

"Takes one to know one, baka."

"Jerk."

Sasuke retorted childishly: "Dobe."

"Teme."

A smile showed on the businessman's features at this, Naruto felt himself relax with it. Showering themselves with insults seemed just right for them. Finally, they settled with a comfortable silence and Naruto allowed it to remain. Right now, all he wanted to do was concentrate on the elegant breakfast they had been served. In front of him lay three dishes: black pudding, baked beans, and fried bread. Alongside the tea and the cupcakes, that is. He wondered about the presence of the cupcakes, but when he took a look at Sasuke and saw that his interest lay mainly upon the small treats, he knew why the chef in this estate chose to put them in his menu.

He remembered Sasuke saying how much he disliked sweets, but the way he was eating them like there was no tomorrow made him believe that maybe, just maybe, cupcakes were okay.

Naruto said his grace and started eating. The food was fantastic! It was on a scale he hadn't yet reached. The person who made those dishes was truly of high caliper. In the midst of savoring every bite, a feeling of sadness came over him. The chef who made the food had put his all into it, probably doing it for the sake of having Sasuke praise it or at least show a little enjoyment while dining… however Sasuke…

He looked up with that thought of his and his eyes widened. Maybe it was due to his constant nagging for Sasuke to appreciate the chefs' efforts or the businessman's own consideration for his staff, but regardless of the reason, Sasuke was doing his best not to show any sort of dissatisfaction on his face. Witnessing that sent shivers down Naruto's spine and he made a little promise to himself, to never give up until a day would come in which Sasuke's problem was solved.

After they finished eating, Sasuke took Naruto to another building in which numerous cars were parked. He picked one and signaled Naruto to come in the passenger seat. Buckling up, the blond had to ask.

"Umm… Sasuke, do you own all those cars?"

Indifferently, while pulling back to get out of the garage, Sasuke answered. "Yes, why?"

"…I knew it."

"Do you want one?" the raven haired male asked in all truthfulness. "I have a lot to spare."

"No, thank you." Naruto raised his hands in objection. "If I got a car from you, somehow it feels like our relationship would change, so let's stay away from that."

Finally, they were drawing away from the estate as whole, the blond released a sigh he didn't know he was holding. The magnificent gate that he'd come walking through was left in the rearview mirror alongside the wall of fence bordering the estate. Naruto looked on with an eye of fondness and acceptance. Indeed, his life was nothing more than a simple, dim box compared to the extravagancy that made Sasuke's norm. However, the chef appreciated it even more.

"What type of relationship do we have?"

That question had Naruto's heart thump so hard it probably hit the windshield. Blinking at the sudden and out of the blue question, he resorted to attack strategy A: throwing the ball to the other's court. "What type of relationship do you think we have?"

"…"

When Sasuke kept silent, Naruto started to panic from the inside and tried to ease everything with a causal reply. "I… I think we are somewhat of friends, don't you?"

Now Sasuke's interest was piqued and he commented. "If we're friends, does that mean if anything were to happen to me, you'd come rushing to help?"

It didn't even take Naruto a second to answer that. "Yes, of course. No matter the time or the place, if you need me I'll be there – that's what friends do."

"Then let's say this: your restaurant caught on fire, your staff needed your help to get out, at the same time, I called you in a dire situation asking your help, who would you choose to help first?" Sasuke presented him with a hypothetical situation to test that answer of his.

The chef's face twisted in distress. He'd actually run to help his staff first and ensure their safety before he could run off to help Sasuke. Even though his heart at that moment would most probably tell him he should be helping Sasuke; still, Naruto knew he couldn't do it. Sasuke mattered greatly to him, but his staff, his restaurant – they were important, not just to him, but to a lot of people as well. Losing them would hurt a great number of hearts; he couldn't do that… even if his own was the price.

"I… Sasuke…" Naruto's voice trembled; the answer to him was very hard that even getting it out felt like betrayal to his heart. "I… just can't…"

When he saw the genuine look of pain appear on the other's face, Sasuke's eyes widened. In fact, he'd asked the question as a joke, knowing perfectly well that Naruto would choose his staff and his restaurant. The blond loved them too much to throw them away for him, after all. He was nothing short of a customer that Naruto disagreed on his policy regarding food. He didn't think the chef thought of him so highly that he'd be tormented as to which path to take if push came to shove. So to see how much Naruto treasured him… a sweet smile came to his lips. Sasuke got off the highway and parked on the side of the road.

Before Naruto could hope to question the reason they were parked, Sasuke had unbuckled his safety belt and two pale hands came to grab Naruto's head. They drew him in for a clash between soft lips. Azure eyes widened at the unexpected kiss, but soon relaxed with the familiar proximity. It didn't last long and to the chef, it had finished before it'd even started. Nonetheless, he had enjoyed every millisecond of it.

"Thank you, Naruto."

With that Sasuke re-buckled his seatbelt and off they went.

* * *

"You know, just because I pretend not to see doesn't mean I don't."

Naruto blinked at his waitress's words and he placed the dishes before her sight. "What do you mean, Sakura-chan?"

"You and him, what happened between you?"

He knew where she was going and a huge sigh escaped his lips. "To tell you the truth, I don't even know myself. We're friends but we are not, we're lovers but we are not. I don't even know what we are."

"Have you talked to him about this, Naruto? About your conflicting feelings, I mean." Sakura questioned, already taking a bite from the chicken croquette Naruto had made.

"I have not. I mean, it's really hard to come right out and blurt _'I like you_!'; I don't even know if he views me that way or not." he scowled at his own words. "Sure we did some sexual stuff and we kissed, but that doesn't mean anything… in this era, you can find a lot of people having causal affairs without holding anything to heart."

Jade eyes widened in surprise at his words, Sakura's mouth gaped open. "You… you _kissed_!"

Judging from her reaction, the blond recalled that he hadn't informed her of that as of yet. He tried to calm the situation and put his hands up as a barrier. "Calm down, Sakura-chan, we did… sorry for not telling you, I totally thought I did. But it didn't mean anything… well, to him it didn't. So it's not like it's a big deal."

Sakura relaxed back onto her seat and scoffed. "I'll forgive you this time; because I know you're an airhead, but you have to tell me about these things from now onwards. Besides, what type of sexual stuff did you do? Did you have sex?"

Naruto munched the croquette in his hand and shook his head, cheeks coloring a slight red. "No, we only hand-jobbed together. Nothing big like sex."

A sigh of relief left her mouth. "I'm glad. If you two had had sex and he felt nothing, then I'd have told you to give up on him. But if you're still just feeling each other up then, it's okay. However, you need to come clean about all this with him, confess and whatever happens, happens. It's just a _'like'_ anyway; you're still not in too deep."

A sad smile graced his face and he questioned: "I'm not so sure about that anymore, Sakura. I thought I just like him, but now I like him even more… I think continuing down this road, I'll fall for him… no, I might have already started falling."

She used her hands to cover her eyes as she shook her head. "Oh God, Naruto, this is what I feared, if you're falling for this guy… I really don’t want to see that happen. You still don't know him all that well, and you're unfamiliar with anything that he's about, so falling –"

"I know all that, but I can't stop my heart. No one can, Sakura. So –"

She interrupted him just like he'd interrupted her former sentence. "So you should stay away before you're in deeper."

"…I can't promise that, but I'll try."

Sakura knew he was lying to stop her from speaking further, she respected that desire of his. Actually, if she wanted to be a good friend, she should just give her support to him like always. This time, however, she just didn't feel like this would end without Naruto hurting in some way or another. Sasuke was the perfect picture and that was what made her so uneasy. It felt like any minute he'd explode and kill Naruto. Her instincts were warning her that he was one to fawn over but never get close to. And here was her best friend, doing the exact opposite and there was nothing she could do to stop him. Silently, the pink-haired beauty prayed that nothing bad would come to harm Naruto.

When Sakura was about to open her mouth and tell Naruto about the new project she was assigned to at school, there was a knock at the front door. Excusing himself from her company, Naruto walked to see who was visiting. When a husky voice reached her drums alongside Naruto's happy tone, she sighed. Three seconds later, a hottie was standing in front of her.

Smiling cheerfully like she did in the restaurant, Sakura greeted. "Hello, Uchiha Sasuke-san, how are you doing?"

The raven haired male sat down and greeted back. "Hello to you too, I'm well. How about you?"

"Leaving." After saying that word, she picked herself up and headed to the door. Not a second later, Naruto was on her heels.

"Sakura-chan, where are you going?"

She looked at the handsome black eyed male and back at him and smirked. "I wouldn't want to be the third wheel here."

Naruto rolled his eyes and clarified. "Just so you'd know, he came here to eat, nothing more. There's no need for you to go out like this. Not to mention it's rude for you to leave the second he comes in. It makes it appear like you don't like him."

Nonchalantly, she affirmed. "Well I don't."

" _I know_ ," he hushed back a response, "but still it's rude. Just sit down and finish your croquette at least. Besides, I've finally made time to bake your salted caramel brownies. I made them just the way you like them!"

"With extra caramel and salt?"

He grinned. "With extra caramel and salt."

With the speed of lightening, Sakura was sitting beside Sasuke like a good girl with stars and hearts dancing in her vision. Her cute side was already out before she could stifle it back in. Haruno Sakura had an unnatural love for brownies, especially caramel salted ones! If there was anything Naruto wanted her to do, he'd always bribe with the delicacy. Sakura would turn into an obeisant puppy the minute he mentioned it.

Chuckling at how endearing she was, Naruto went into the kitchen to bring out the brownies, just in time to come find Sakura's plate of croquette finished to a T. He put the brownies in front of her and continued laughing when she chomped happily on them. Honestly, Sakura was just so adorable at times that he found himself staring.

A cough to his right pulled Naruto's attention away from the pink haired beauty, he was met with smirking eyes. Sasuke commented. "Should _I_ leave?"

Rolling his eyes at his two friends' similar line of thoughts, the chef responded. "No, you shouldn't. I'll bring your dish in a minute so stay put."

Naruto disappeared into the kitchen and two minutes later, he came out with his hands behind his back.

"The other day, it seemed like you really like cupcakes, and since I still had leftovers from doing Sakura's brownies, I made you…" He made some drum sounds, then presented the treat. "A devil's food cupcake~"

Having finished his explanation, the blond offered three cutely made chocolate cupcakes. Two red horns were coming out of them as a simple decoration. Sakura had to momentarily stop gulping down the brownies to admire Naruto's art work. The blond was never a good baker, but when he put his mind to perfect a treat, he didn't disappoint. This was one of those rare occasions where Naruto's hidden talent would make an entrance. Sakura reached out to try one of them, but a tan hand gently slapped hers away.

"No, Sakura-chan, these are Sasuke's. You already have your brownies. Remember, too much sugar is never good for the body." He scolded gently.

The pink-haired beauty pouted but kept her distance. Naruto's words were right, if she ate any more sweets, her diet would suffer greatly. Crying in her own dark corner, she munched on her caramel salted brownies.

Watching the display from a far and seeing as how the chef and his best friend were done with their little play, Sasuke reached out a hand and took a bite from the cupcake. Foreign to how it looked, the chocolate mixture wasn't that dominant. It wasn't that sugary either. In fact, it was light and felt like a little puff of air upon his tongue. Sasuke felt the always present ability to puke descend on his stomach, but he refused to allow it to surface. Maintaining a poker face so as not to hurt the feelings of the chef for the thousandth time, Sasuke nodded his affirmation.

"It's good."

Naruto allowed a sigh to leave his lips and gave the businessman a smile. "You don't need to lie, Sasuke. I appreciate your feelings, but saying it's good when it's not won't help us move a single step forward."

The raven haired male shook his head, disputing Naruto's words. "No, I'm not lying. It's better than the previous ones. I still got the feeling of wanting to throw up, but this time it took a while for it to come. This means that we're improving. A day might come when I can eat everything with genuine taste."

"Hopefully, we'll reach that day before I die." Naruto provided a pessimistic snicker.

Sasuke raised two thumps-up and cheered. "I'm counting on you."

The chef sighed as he relaxed back on the cushions. His two friends continued eating their sweets in silence until Sakura's phone rang and she had to excuse herself from their company, this time with a legitimate reason that she couldn't get rid of. Naruto permitted her to leave with a promise that she'd drop by the next day for dinner.

He got back to the room and found Sasuke already putting his jacket on. With blinking eyes, he questioned: "Don't tell me you also have an appointment you need to catch, too?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, I do. It'd started for half an hour now, to tell you the truth, I shouldn't have come here in the first place, but…"

"But?"

Sasuke approached Naruto and staring him straight in the eyes, he blurted out: "I wanted to recharge."

A playful smile came to sit on Naruto's lips as he cooed, "Recharge? Should I take that as a compliment to my cooking?"

"Rather a compliment to your company." Sasuke refuted swiftly.

A slight blush showed on the blond's face, but he was soon to counter with a smirk. "My, oh my, Uchiha-sama, are you trying to butter me up?"

"Believe me, if I was, you'd know."

With those words as his parting speech, Sasuke put on his monks and exited the chef's rundown apartment. Naruto simply rolled his eyes at the Uchiha's words as he set to clean up after him.

* * *

Naruto took a deep breath before he set foot inside the café, he made himself comfortable on one of the seats closest to the exit. A girl dressed in a maid outfit, with cat ears coming out of her head, bowed cutely at him, her curly locks swaying with every movement she was told to perform. The maid offered Naruto a menu and chirpily asked him to call on her when he was ready to order. The blond sighed inwardly at the overly appealing café, before he gazed down at the menu.

Big, colorful letters with multiple cat-symbols were meowing up at him. He quickly picked a smoothie with a cheesecake and placed the menu down. Normally, he wouldn't come all the way here to meet with Neji, but since the patisserie insisted that he came over, Naruto decided that it was better to meet and get everything over with. The fear that the Hyuuga was about to involve him in something dangerous was ringing at the back of his head, but Naruto decided that he'd refuse anything from now onward… he just needed his resolve to not weaken.

A few minutes after the maid-cat-girl had taken his request, Naruto was presented with the delights. As always, the taste was marvelous and for a second, he forgot he was on Earth. Finishing the delicacies quickly, Naruto waited patiently for his companion to arrive. It wasn't until good fifteen minutes had passed that Hyuuga Neji presented himself in front of the chef.

"Punctuality. You're losing it." Naruto flatly commented.

A warm smile appeared on the other male's face as he provided his excuse. "Sorry, Naruto-kun, but I was really swamped. The help I had ordered to arrive today was delayed; so I had to work extra to make amends. Nonetheless, it won't happen again."

"Doesn't matter. So? Why am I here?"

"That… are you sure you want me to dive right into it?"

The blond nodded. "I left my staff to handle breakfast on their own, that's why it would be better to get this over with quickly. As much as I trust them, I'd rather be there if any emergency would cook up."

Neji's smile stretched and he reached a hand to touch Naruto's hair. "You know, Naruto-kun, I always respected you. No matter what, you never run away from your responsibilities."

The blond didn't even grace the hand on his hair a glance and simply ignored it. "Yes, and neither do you."

"True, but this isn't what I meant." the patisserie took a deep breath and elaborated. "Being with you was different from being around my family or those who I'd call friends. You're pure and hardworking. You refuse to allow anyone to give stuff to you and would strive to make it on your own. I really admired you back in school."

"A past tense? You don't admire me now?"

"No, I still do." Neji took his hand away and smiled. "No matter how hard the road, you never gave up or ran away. That's why I considered you a worthy opponent and, to some extent, an idol."

Blue orbs widened with every word that came out of the other male's lips. As long as he could remember, Neji was the idol. He did everything perfectly, everyone looked up to him and, in the sense of working hard, Neji was doing that from day one. He couldn't understand why someone of his caliber would tell him that he admired him. But since the brunet seemed to still have things to say, Naruto kept his mouth shut.

"I don't know if you know this, but I come from a wealthy family. I was raised with a golden spoon in my mouth. I attained everything I could aspire to have, yet I was empty. Baking was the only thing that made me whole, meeting you had made my life impeccable. Naruto-kun, every time I asked you for something, you did it. Sure you complained, but at the end you were there to help me. Today, I didn't ask you here for a favor. Today I wanted to tell you about my feelings. I'm truly glad to have a friend like you, Naruto-kun."

When it was apparent that the other male was done saying his piece, Naruto provided a blinding beam and conveyed his own emotions.

"Thank you, Neji… Actually, I'm the one who's lucky to have you as a friend. You were the only person I had in culinary school who understood what I was dealing with. Though not always going straight, you helped me when I needed it. I don't know if I could have made it this far without your help, so thank you for being a part of my life, Neji."

They finished their talk with that and Neji allowed a sigh to escape his lips. He didn't actually plan on telling Naruto all those things, but somehow, now that he had, it felt right. The chef was probably the closest, real friend he had. Amongst the wolves he was dealing with, Naruto was the only sheep that liked the real him. He was a friend that he should hold on to until his day of doom came along.

"Now that we're done with the girly stuff, there's something I need to warn you about."

The chef rolled his eyes but kept on tight ears. "Warn me about what?"

"You remember that day, when I came to your apartment?"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"See, at that time I was too preoccupied with Gaara's problem to think straight, but when I got home I remembered, the guy I saw with you… he's indeed Uchiha Sasuke of Uchiha corps."

When Sasuke's name came up within the conversation, Naruto's face turned to a frown. "Why are you so sure about Sasuke?"

"You're on first name basis now?" The beautiful lilac eyed male smirked.

"Never mind where I'm with him," Naruto countered. "How do you know that?"

"Well, I didn't meet him from the underworld so you can relax. I met him when I was a kid; he was one of the heirs to the Uchiha fortune. He and his brother, Itachi."

"Ooh."

"But ignoring that, you should keep your distance from him," Neji insisted with a straight face.

Folding his hands, the chef puffed out his cheeks. "Why does everyone keep on telling me that? Sasuke is a good person who is intelligent, charming – and I happen to have a great time with him."

"Yeah, no one said anything about his charming personality, but you need to know something. That dude, his parents alongside his big brother, they all died in a car accident when he was eight. Apparently he was the only survivor, everyone else died."

Naruto's whole body shook with that news. Since he knew Sasuke, Sakura had told him many times to question the male about his intimate information, but it always felt like Sasuke was keeping him away. Even when the pink haired girl had brought him info on Sasuke, he refused to listen. Now, being told all this, it all fell into place. Why Sasuke didn't like going home, why he sometimes stared at nothing whenever Naruto talked about his old man, and why he never told Naruto anything personal about him. Every sort of action now made sense, at least in some ways.

The businessman had no family to speak of. All those who he'd loved perished in a single day. How hard must that topic be for him to speak about? How hard was it for him to live his life surrounded by people pitying him or subjecting him to the torture of that accident?

The blond felt his eyes well up with hidden tears. He didn't want to cry and show his sorrow, it didn't feel right. Sasuke wasn't the one sharing this important information with him, crying behind his back like this, feeling sorry for him like this, it wasn't right. He wouldn't want it for himself. When his own father and last forte in life had died, people kept on treating him like broken glass, and he hated every minute of it. So right now, he shouldn't do it to his friend… he shouldn't be feeling sorrow for the brave soul that was Sasuke.

Uchiha Sasuke was an intelligent, strong and lovely person. The months they'd spent together had shown him the true strength behind that poker face. For the love of him, Naruto refused to shed a single tear and tarnish that strength with pity.

Wiping his eyes before his tears got a chance to fall down, Naruto directed a strong gaze to his friend.

"I appreciate you telling me all this and I know you're saying it because you're concerned about me, but please don't. If Sasuke doesn't tell me about this himself, I don't want to know."

Naruto stood up and, before Neji could muster a reply, he was out of the maid café. The long haired male just looked at the space his friend was sitting in a few seconds ago and rubbed his temples, before muttering.

"I didn't get to the part of the warning yet, Naruto-kun…"

* * *

**Thanks for reading, waiting for your comments~**


	5. Chapter 5

Uzumaki Naruto held his breath to keep from squealing like a little girl in an amusement park. He attempted to stifle his inner happiness and keep from gushing like a fountain of joy. His failed attempts, however, only made him stand out more. Sasuke sighed as a result and gave the excited chef a glass of white wine to calm him down, whispering softly for him to cool it.

"Here, this ought to dim you down a bit."

The blond bit his lips and offered a small apology. "Sorry, Sasuke, but it's not like I always get a chance to dine here!"

"Yes, I understand…" Sasuke soothed, "Still keep it down."

All the tuxes and beautiful gowns highlighted the formality of the restaurant they were at. It was one of the leading ones in the industry, after all. Naruto knew that he'd have to have deep pockets and a lot of strings at his hands in order to get a single chair, let alone a table in this place. But here he was, out on a regular night, dining like he owned the restaurant alongside Sasuke. Honestly, he never expected such a thing to happen. His humble self knew better than to shoot for those types of stars. Azure eyes looked at the gentleman before them, Uchiha Sasuke, the magnificent man who made all this happen… and a stray tear left the corner of Naruto's eye.

"Sasuke…" he squeaked the name out, making the object of his attention cringe. "Have I ever told you how happy I am that I met you?"

"No, not really; your violent actions of always trying to kick me out of your apartment don't support such allegations," The raven haired male replied with nonchalance.

"Well you should know, from now on, that you're my most favorite person in the whole wide world."

Naruto's eyes turned rounder and started spewing stars of admiration and love. The black eyed male had to shield his own in order not to be blinded. Sighing at how easily bribable his companion was, the Uchiha asked one of the waiters for another dish to be added to their table. His action only caused the metaphorical hearts and stars that were thrusted into his face to increase in number. A fleeting idea about how cute Naruto was savoring every bite floated to his mind, though Sasuke made sure to shake it away the instant it landed.

Actually, he'd gotten the reservation from a business associate; normally he'd refuse such invites. Nonetheless, this time, before declaring a refusal, his heart told him to see if the blond wished to visit the joint. He'd already dined in the restaurant countless of times before and to him, the food served wasn't all that good, but apparently, the chef disagreed. When he remembered the bone-crushing hug Naruto gave – once asked to accompany him on this lovely outing – a grin revitalized his face. These days, the time he spent with Naruto proved to be the best fun he'd ever had.

"Sasuke… why aren't you eating?"

His eyes cursed his distraction when Naruto's concern became evident to him. The Uchiha shook his head and tried to refute that worry. "My brain wandered for a bit."

"…Are you sure that's all?" The chef put the fork down. "You're not forcing yourself to eat again?"

To show his actual wellbeing, Sasuke reached for an oyster and brought it to his mouth. His face morphed into the dissatisfied looks Naruto had come to associate him with, but it soon transformed back into its normal state. Following his bite with a sip of the wine, Sasuke clarified:

"I'm doing what I always do, eat to survive. Don't worry about me, tonight you just have to concern yourself with having fun. Consider it my own thanks for always being my chef."

Those words were like a wind chime being rung by a breezy air. Naruto nodded. He wouldn't allow the efforts of the other male to go ignored. Sasuke was still recovering, being unable to taste wouldn't allow him to not have fun, Naruto figured he shouldn't focus his attention on the topic. Sasuke could have easily lied to him and showed an expression of delight or a poker face when he ate, but to honor him, he didn't do that. He showed him exactly what the food was doing to his taste-buds, Naruto wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Grinning like he owned the world, the handsome chef asked aloud: "Okay, so let's use this time to learn something about one another, shall we?"

"Oho, you're already fishing for info I see."

"Staying without knowing anything like this is no fun. Let's start with something interesting." He began, already having an idea in store. "For us to get to know each other more, you ask a question, I answer and vice versa. Each gets one question until the other answers, what do you think?"

A smirk showed on Sasuke's face and he obliged. "Alright, I'll humor you. You're not allowed to lie though."

"I agree. Then I'll go first since it was my idea, what's the worst thing you've ever done?"

Rolling his eyes at the expected question, the Uchiha took a sip from his glass, looked back at all his misdeeds and gave Naruto a positive answer. "I shot someone."

Blue orbs widened the size of an apple; Naruto's mouth was gaping like a fish out of water. His first thought was that Sasuke was simply pulling his legs, but those eyes told him he was nowhere near lying. A lot of questions followed in his head and he was quick to voice them out.

"You did? Who did you shoot? When was it? How did it –"

A sharp gaze held his questions to a halt as the Uchiha reported. "A question each. I answered mine, you should answer yours. What's the worst thing _you've_ ever done?"

Naruto grimaced when his words were shoved back in his face. Sighing, he thought back on his life and found his reply. "Third year of junior high, I beat some jerks to the hospital and got juvenile for two months."

"You don't seem all that regretful about it."

The blond sneered and fisted his hands. "They deserved every punch, broken bone and concussion they got. Making fun of dad's restaurant... Those assholes, I'd beat them up again if time was rewound. "

Sasuke didn't even need to inquire about the reason as it was spelt boldly for him. "Oh."

"Anyway, it's my turn, so who did you shoot?"

"Someone who dared badmouth my big brother. He had it coming," The handsome raven mocked, resting a hand on his chin. "Just like those idiots of yours. Some scums are best disciplined early."

A shiver ran down Naruto's spine and he winced. "I think we have a very different idea about discipline here."

"Why? You put yours in a hospital and so did I."

"I used my fists, not a freaking gun!" Naruto quickly refuted the similarity. "How old were you anyway to do such a thing?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Naruto-kun, such a bad boy, it isn't your turn to ask."

Sasuke waved his index in front of the blond and gave a naughty smile, sending another shiver of anxiety down Naruto's system. Thinking it was better to give the sadistic jerk his time, Naruto urged him on when all Sasuke seemed to want to do is drink his wine. A momentary thought about how he could stomach the poison but not his cooking made Naruto wish the wine was never made.

"You're going to ask or we should just skip your turn?"

"No, I will. I'm just thinking of what I want to know most."

"I'm an open book, I don't think there would be anything you need to know and I haven't told you before."

"Then, Open-Book-san, care to tell if you've ever had a threesome?"

The blond spat out the water he was drinking. Sasuke's question didn't only shift the boundaries of what one should ask, but also the limit to intruding. He was already fishing for the nasty sexual affairs the chef might or might not have had. He felt a little bit defensive about his preferences being laid on the table, yet he was the one who'd come up with the game. It wouldn't be right to lie or accuse Sasuke of overstepping; besides, he had nothing to be ashamed of. His life was a clean slate… according to him.

"Not really… I was asked a couple of times, but I wasn't interested enough."

"Hmm… so if I asked you right now, would you get interested?"

His blood started heating at Sasuke's hints, but he maintained a blank stare and smirked a reply. "You'll need to wait to know. So here's my question, why do you want me in a threesome with you?"

"No reason," The Uchiha answered coolly. "I just thought it'd be fun watching you have sex."

His tan cheeks colored a little and he stood his ground, slyly, Naruto voiced a retort. "I didn't know you saw me that way."

Looking at those cerulean eyes made something inside Sasuke move, he didn't know if it was his desire or emotions. Yet, regardless, he knew there was one thing he truly wanted right now. "I don't even know if I do, I just want to see you have sex. From that night we hand-blew each other, it's always on my mind."

"So," Naruto tried to adjust everything and asked his question. "Let me get this straight, you don't want to have sex with me, you want to see me have sex with someone else?"

Even though it was Naruto's turn to answer not ask, Sasuke obliged an answer. "…Yes, I believe so."

"You don't think that's a farfetched request to make?"

"It's not a request," The raven haired male corrected. "It's a desire I think I want to see happen. However, it all depends on your own view of a threesome. If you agree then I can mark that as checked on my list."

Eyebrows furrowing, Naruto asked again. "Even if I agreed to such a ridiculous thing, which I won't – especially right now – it won't be a threesome. It'd be me having normal sex with you watching and not participating. You'd be nothing short of a pervert, Sasuke."

The Uchiha took a bite of the dish he'd ordered last and retorted to his companion.

"I don't believe I'm a pervert since I haven't acted upon that desire. A human can have a lot of wishes and desires, but having a brain is what makes you control them and guide yourself through life. We're not animals, after all."

"It's good that you think that way," The chef whistled in relief. "I wouldn't know what to do if you really wanted me to do that."

"Oh, have no mistake: want to watch you ejaculate during sex, that's not a mistake. But," Sasuke sent a genuine smile the blond's way and his eyes twinkled. "I won't go out of my way to force you to do it. Because, if it's not something you want, it won't be wonderful."

Naruto felt his own blood rush to his penis at that stare; it felt like Sasuke was imaging the whole scene of him fucking someone else and, even though it was horrid to his innocent self, the temptation at being watched by those black pearls did nothing to lessen his growing erection. In a moment of being overwhelmed by all this, Naruto took the glass of wine and drank it all in a second of lust filled intoxication.

He could see what Neji was warning him about and only God could help his sinking self now.

* * *

"I don't see why I need to go this far for you."

Naruto was about to hit the rich man on the head with the spatula he was holding, but, deciding to be humble and ask, he gritted his teeth and bit out a reply.

"It's because your ass has made a permanent hole in my sofa. So you need to take responsibility and help me get a new one."

Sasuke folded his hands and snorted, not liking where the conversation was heading. "You must be joking, that ancient thing was wrecked before I even stepped foot in this apartment. Stop throwing decades of neglect my way."

This time, Naruto was holding himself by the chains in order to keep from spitting in the stew he was making for Sasuke. He hated how the bastard was treating his lovely home, but he did need someone to help with moving the new furniture. Controlling his irritation and thinking of happy thoughts, Naruto retorted with a cool:

"Well no matter what, I want you to come along with me."

The Uchiha ruffled his hair and sighed. "Even if I wanted to, I honestly can't. This weekend I'm flying to France, so ask someone else."

Naruto dimmed the fire on the stew and closed it with a lid, before he turned to the living room and came to sit beside the handsome male. Sasuke was dressed in a causal shirt and pants, Naruto allowed himself a minute to enjoy the visual charm his eyes were beholding. The raven haired male had come straight from his office, his briefcase was thrown casually on the sofa Naruto wished to change and he was behaving like he owned the place. By now, Naruto thought, he probably did. Groaning to himself, the blond asked in a quiet tone.

"You're leaving to France? When will you be back?"

Sasuke relaxed and made eye contact. "Three days, tops a week."

"Oh."

"What?"

"Nothing… was just thinking who would make you food all that time."

The dark eyed male provided a sensible reply. "Probably the hotel I'm staying at, or if I'm bored I'd try my hand at local restaurants. Don't worry, I'll get by."

"…Yeah, you're right. You can live a week without me."

Naruto's eyes seemed to sparkle with the hidden intent he was holding in his heart. Sasuke wanted to demonstrate that he'd been living perfectly well before the chef had entered his life, but something told him that those words would do more harm than good and would be hard to take back. So he kept his mouth shut, choosing to allow his chef some luxurious delight. Looking at their comfortable setting, an idea flashed inside Sasuke's mind.

"Hey, why don't you come with me? I bet you haven't been to France before, and if you're worried about the restaurant, we can ask someone to run it in your stead –"

A smile broke free from Naruto's lips and he shook his head. "As tempting as it sounds, I can't go. My restaurant is being evaluated by a health inspector this Sunday, so I have to make everything perfect… well it already is, but you understand how I can't leave my staff alone and go… right?"

Sasuke nodded and voiced his thoughts in an easy manner. "Alright, though it's a shame."

The blond grinned and took that as his cue to go and check on the stew. He added seasonings and tasted the dish. Beaming once it hit the right flavor balance, he closed the lid on it and went to prepare their utensils. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Sasuke disappear from his viewfinder and into the bathroom.

Ten minutes later and they were sitting at the table eating the stew. Over the course of the meal, Sasuke told Naruto exactly what was missing and what ticked him off; these days they were really becoming better at this. Sasuke had showed a marvelous improvement towards some seasonings. He had also stopped sensing a need to throw up every time he dined, and was able to go through a whole meal set with no obvious disgust – though they were still far from the ideal result they wished to have.

The chef had noticed some slight hints as well. First, Sasuke seemed to eat better with company, regardless of what he himself would claim. Second, Sasuke really loved tomatoes. Whenever he made something with fresh tomatoes, a slight smile would govern the corner of the businessman's mouth, giving Naruto a sense of achievement like no other. And finally, Sasuke really enjoyed eating with chopsticks. The rich male was well versed in all global utensils, but what made him grin and glow were Japanese chopsticks.

All these little details were helping Naruto form a clear idea of Sasuke and, hopefully, he would be able to know why the businessman had problems with food in time.

"Naruto?"

The blond had to stop his inner musings to reply to the croaky tone. "Hmm?"

Seemingly thinking something through, Sasuke closed his eyes, put down his chopsticks and allowed a somewhat worried glance to show on his features. Just when Naruto was about to question the odd behavior, the handsome male spoke. "…before going to France, there's something I want to tell you…"

Since the air was too serious for jokes, Naruto nodded his understanding. "I'm listening."

Jet-black eyes looked at the stew and at pale hands lying restlessly beside it, before encouraging their owner to face shining beautiful seas. The Uchiha straightened his pose and started:

"I didn't really mean to hide it and I'd thought you'd have searched about it, but you didn't. Honestly, it puzzled me for a while how you didn't want to ask about it, but… getting to know you, I learnt how much you didn't care about those things." Sasuke gave a smile at this, then continued. "All this feels like I'm hiding it and I'm not. It's my past, everyone has one and I'm not ashamed of it nor do I allow it to affect me, so for you to know… it's not a big deal… I think –"

His stomach hurt and he felt the words Neji had told him rush to his head. Naruto hated how he wasn't what his crush believed. Sasuke was most probably going to share with him the horrible events that had befallen him and his family, thinking Naruto knew nothing… but he did… and it killed him that he did. Biting his lip, Naruto couldn't sit and allow Sasuke the wrong impression of him, so with a voice concealed to a hush, he interrupted.

"Sasuke, let's talk about this later, right now, let's finish our meal and then…" his voice broke, betraying him. "…I'd w-want to hear everything you have to say."

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly after that… and he saw. Those eyes looking at him with obvious guilt, they were the eyes of someone who already knew the tragedy he'd gone through and had heard the awful rumors. He should laugh at himself, expecting Naruto not to know in this day and age. Even if the chef didn't wish to, he'd come to know. The Uchiha name itself was far more than famous; probably an acquaintance or a newspaper had mentioned it. The source didn't matter to Sasuke. What mattered was that his story was stolen from him. Naruto must have already formed an idea about everything related to him and whatever words he uses to defend; they'd fall on deaf ears…

He should have told his tale from day one. Now… all that was left was bitter regret.

"Sasuke!"

The exclamation to his name had the businessman jolt out of his blizzard of thoughts and back to his conversation with the blond. When Naruto saw the broken gaze on those features he loved so much, he swiftly traversed the distance separating them and held Sasuke's face in between his hands.

"Stop it right now! Everything you're thinking, stop it!" the chef stressed, putting his all into those words. "I've already heard a story, Sasuke, but it's not _your_ story! I want to hear it from _your_ lips, with _your_ words… I want to understand what you thought of it, not what someone else did! So stop any thought that tells you otherwise!"

Black orbs widened with every word coming out of Naruto's mouth and slowly, the light that was about to leave them returned to its rightful place. Naruto was still skeptical that he'd gotten through to Sasuke, but when a pair of cold, pale hands rested on top of his, he heaved a sigh of relaxation.

"I believe you…" Sasuke muttered.

"Good," Naruto smiled. "I was ready to hit you senseless until you did."

Sasuke mirrored Naruto's smile and nodded. "I have no fear that you would."

Having gotten his point across, Naruto was about to move his hands away and return to his seat, when Sasuke's hold became too strong. As he looked inside those black pearls, he knew what the other wished for. Leaning forward, Naruto planted a soft kiss on his beloved's lips. Sharing the sweetness of the moment and wishing that everything clouding Sasuke's life would just wither away, he held him close.

After the kiss, Naruto returned back to his seat with a stupid grin on his face. Their meal was continued with nothing but an enchanting silence.

* * *

Naruto chose to ignore his new bed. Instead, he pulled two futons out of his closet and placed them near each other on the floor. Fixing the pillows and the blankets on top, he offed the lights when he made sure Sasuke was already making himself comfortable under his covers. Coming to his own futon, the chef leaned on his right side – facing Sasuke – and spoke.

"Sasuke, you can tell me now."

A rustle was heard from his right, then Sasuke's voice spoke: "I still don't understand why we couldn't have this conversation over dinner."

"Because food has its own rituals," Naruto explained with pride, "If you'd started back then, I'd most probably have forgotten all about eating and concentrated on you. That would be very unfair to the food and the meal we were having, so…"

Naruto trailed off and Sasuke released a huge sigh. "Really, you're too attached, Naruto, get some help."

The chef grinned, but a second later urged in all seriousness. "You love me the way I am, I know. Now, all jokes aside, tell me, Sasuke, your part of the story and about what had happened to your family."

With the silence and the darkness of the room as his theater – and Naruto as his sole audience – Sasuke started the tale of his life. He began when he was young; he introduced Naruto to his family. His lovely mother, Uchiha Mikoto, his strict but gentle father, Uchiha Fugaku, and his adoring older brother, Uchiha Itachi. They were the perfect family. Enchanted with wealth, brains and social status. In the eyes of all, they were viewed with respect and envy. Perhaps it was envy that had led to the destruction of his home.

The accident had taken place on a sunny day. They were coming back from a violin recital that Itachi had performed. That day, his father had wished to drive the car by himself, celebrating Itachi's slamming hit. His mother was in the passenger seat laughing at a joke her husband had said; Itachi was playing with him in the back seat, teaching him how he'd aced the recital. One minute they were all laughing, the next the car flipped about, blood seeping from everywhere as the car caught fire.

He was the only survivor.

The only reason for such was his big brother. Itachi had shielded his tiny body from the hit and when the car flipped over, he was able to open the door fast enough to throw Sasuke out. The action had landed him on a nearby hill and resulted in his survival. However, the rest of his family was engulfed in a picture of red flames. He'd entered a state of shock after that. His heart had turned into stone and he refused to acknowledge the death of those he'd held dear. Multiple therapists tried to work with him, but it was all to no avail. The worst thing was that the fortune of the Uchiha all fell into his tiny, small, inexperienced hands.

Uchiha Sasuke was orphaned at the tender age of eight.

The reminding family he had all tried to win custody over him. It was a vicious battle with the sole aim of attaining the Uchiha wealth. Sasuke knew no one cared about him, he knew where all the eyes were heading and he didn't care. As long as he was alive, his young heart considered such a fate a sin. He should have died there with the rest of his family. He shouldn't be allowed to live past his time when everyone wasn't there. His life was an error made by his big brother. Itachi should have saved himself instead. Compared to him, Itachi was the rightful heir, he had intelligence and wit. Not like him, a weakling who couldn't even breathe right in his family' absence.

However, wishing at that time had proven to be nothing but aimless tries at running away.

Days morphed into months and finally, a family took custody over him. Sasuke was shown nothing but love and affection, of course, all which were nothing but fake sentiments. His stay in that house didn't last long, because one day the uncle that had taken his custody demanded that Sasuke agree to allow him to take more than the appointed money. The raven haired male had refused and their little bout had ended with the uncle choosing to stab Sasuke. Fortunately, he missed and ended up cutting his own femoral artery. By the time the ambulance had arrived, the man was dead.

The second family that took him in had their eyes set on the same thing: his fortune. A similar incident had occurred, but this time, it was the wife who'd tried to get some money out of him. At the end of the day, he was taken away from that house as well.

His tale of switching through houses had continued for about three years after, until Sasuke decided that enough was enough and he'd just stay in his own home. He was still just an eleven-year-old with nothing legal to allow him such leverage on himself. However, he wasn't just a normal eleven-year-old, he was Uchiha Sasuke, the heir to lands, hotels and multiple corporations. Using his connections, he was able to secure a guardian for himself and live inside the mansion his parents had loved so much.

One day, when he was lost to seas of depression, he received a visit from a dear old friend. That friend was the one who'd helped him get out of the pool of human-hate, and see what the world had to offer. She'd shown Sasuke that it shouldn't be black or grey, that he should find his white again and achieve his right to live. When Itachi chose to save his life, it was not to no purpose and he needed to honor his brother and his parents by living that life to the fullest. Her words took a while until they were properly absorbed into his subconscious, when that happened, he decided to turn a new leaf.

He did everything impeccably. Whether it was a school performance, business performance or carrying himself through social events. He refused to give anyone anything to point out and dis his parents and dead brother about, throughout the hardships, he sailed with a strong will. While doing all that, Sasuke had failed to notice that he'd lost his wants and was functioning on his needs alone.

Another thing had happened without the tragic male's awareness: a horrific rumor about him was spreading like wildfire in the community. It told about the misfortune that would befell anyone who associated with him, as he was _a God of death_ disguised in an angel's uniform. Wherever he went, people died.

Sasuke couldn't refute that, since, honestly speaking, every house that he'd lived in had a catastrophe befall it. Maybe it was his punishment or maybe it was just life being a bitch; nonetheless, he was the one being given the honorable, scary title. A lot of people had kept their distance from him and Sasuke didn't really care, because to him, he just needed to live and fulfill this hard life, so that when he dies and meets his big brother, Itachi would have nothing to complain about.

With that, the businessman finished his tale and waited patiently for Naruto to give his opinion. The Uchiha took a deep breath and looked at their positions. They were sitting facing each other in the dark, eyes locked onto one another's. Part of the reason he'd asked Naruto to turn off the lights was because he didn't want the blond to see his face. He felt like some of his expressions would come to betray him. Sasuke didn't want Naruto to remember him with faces of anger, frustration or hatred. He wished to always retain the image painted inside Naruto's head of him.

The first thing Naruto did when he made sure Sasuke was done, was extend his hand and gently request. "Hand, Sasuke."

The handsome male indulged and gave it without hesitation. When coldness hit his warm hand, Naruto felt his heart squeeze tight. Before he was to comment on anything, he wanted to be connected physically with Sasuke. He felt that if he wasn't, the raven haired male might come to misinterpret whatever he was about to say. Truthfully, inside of him, his emotions were riding a roller-coaster. He wanted to cry - he wanted to smother Sasuke between his arms and shout about how wrong those people were. However, Sasuke was someone who had been to hell and back; words alone might not even get through to him.

Naruto looked the other male straight in his eyes and chose his words carefully. "You… you, Sasuke, are the bravest person I've ever met."

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair as he refuted. "Don't worry about it… you don't need to lie or pity me, I'm alright."

There it was, the misunderstanding he wanted to avoid. Naruto inwardly sighed to himself. "I don't really pity you, Sasuke. That was your life. Your misfortune and fortune, it shaped the you that's talking to me right now. I don't know the family you lost, I can't even imagine the hell those people have put you through, but I know one thing: you came out of that strong. You're brave. I'm not lying or pitying you. But… if there's one thing I'm regretting, it's not being there by your side to help you."

Sasuke had to adjust their position so his face was facing Naruto's fully, and this time he believed the words coming out of his mouth. The blond was warm. The hand holding his was warm. That warmth, which slowly made way to his heart - there was no way it was faked. With his free hand, Sasuke cupped Naruto's cheek.

"Since I was eleven, I thought I was a damaged good. I have nothing interesting about me. I'm a boring person. I have no passion for life… everything that you are, I am not. The past I have, it might have helped shape this _'me'_ that doesn't enjoy living… but if I didn't become this way, I don't think I would resist suicide." The Uchiha took a breath as his eyes looked down. "I'm not as brave as you believe. I'm a coward. I chose to shield away from everything in order to survive. So compared to you, I'm not living, Naruto. I'm merely operating."

Before Naruto could reply, Sasuke started giving tiny kisses to him. He began with the forehead, the eyes, the nose, the cheeks, the chin and, finally, a sweet kiss to Naruto's lips. Maybe it was because he didn't want Naruto to speak and refute his words, or because he enjoyed to closeness as it warmed him, no matter the reason, he felt himself soothe every time he gave a kiss.

"Sasuke, it takes courage to be able to survive, I may not have told you this, but after my father died and I lost everything, I was in a very dark place. There were times when I thought that taking my life was the answer. I'm glad I had people in my life that helped me through it and Sasuke, you didn't have all those people but you still survived. If that doesn't make you brave, I don't know what does." Naruto got closer if possible, and smiled. "Right now, in my eyes, you're becoming more amazing by the minute… Sasuke."

"… Before meeting you, I didn't care about living, I don't think I was even alive… but now, now I feel that it won't be such a bad idea if I got a little bit interested."

"Yes, please, get more interested… for me."

Naruto felt his heart throb out of his ribcage, he couldn't hold it anymore. He jumped over Sasuke and closed that mouth with his own. The distance between them was growing smaller by the second and he still felt it wasn't enough. They kissed and hugged each other. In the cool room, they both enjoyed the close proximity and the feeling of having someone who cared.

"All those horrible things that had happened to you," The chef started. "You have to know they weren't in vain."

Sasuke smiled at him and nodded, losing his fingers inside that golden hair. "I do… Naruto, I told you because I wanted to tell you about my past. I wanted you to know where I come from, I wanted to share with you the happy family I once had, just like you always shared stories about your father. I wanted to show you a little bit of me."

Naruto felt his heart thump louder and hugged the male under him tightly. "Then… I'll be looking forward to hearing them, all of Sasuke's happy stories."

Returning the hug with his face immersed in Naruto's neck, Sasuke whispered. "It'll be my pleasure."

* * *

He looked at his right and beamed, his staff were having the time of their lives chatting away. Shino, Kiba and the beautiful Hinata were sitting together drinking tea. The two males were unfamiliar with sipping tea like gentlemen, but since it made Hinata happy, they did it anyway. Right now, from what he'd heard, a new type of treatment was being tried on her and so far, she seemed to be getting a bit better. With any luck, by next spring her condition would have showed a noticeable improvement.

As always, Ino and Sakura were bickering about some silly topic. The two girls were as close as ever. Throughout the years – even though they fought just about every day - they had found that they couldn't live apart from one another. Right now, they were just like sisters: if something bad were to happen to one of them, the other would go to hell and back to help her. Sakura and Ino's friendship was a motto to live by.

On the far side of the picnic sat Chōji enjoying some ribs, only for Sai to come and start bothering him about his weight. It didn't last long before the big male used Sai as a sitting cushion until the pale one gave up his teasing. Naruto chuckled when Shikamaru stepped in and hit Choji on the head, explaining that that wasn't a way to treat a fellow worker, even if said worker was a dick in the ass.

Away from their noise, on the bench, sat Sabaku Gaara. Naruto had come to appreciate three things about this young man. He was witty and liked his space. On numerous occasions he had tried to enroll him in a group conversation, just like this time, and have him enjoy an outing with the bunch. But Gaara always kept his distance. At the beginning, the chef thought he just didn't like them, but when he got to know the redhead, it appeared that that was just how he rolled. By his nature, he was a lone wolf… well a lone wolf who allowed only one human to get close: Hyuuga Neji.

Maybe the redhead had seen something in his friend that made him believe they were alike. Whatever the reasoning, Gaara never allowed a person to invade his personal bubble, except for Neji. To Naruto it was alright, for as long as he was happy, nothing was wrong.

The air was clear and everyone was having fun. Naruto relaxed against the tree at his back, a peep had him switch his attention to a text on his mobile phone. His face broke into a grin, he typed an answer. Excusing himself from his staff, Naruto walked to the northern entrance of the grand park. He picked up his phone and continued giving directions to the lost Sasuke. About fifteen minutes later, he saw the raven haired male walk towards him with a dissatisfied look on his face. Upon seeing a group of females toeing his movements, Naruto understood the reason.

Without intending to, a laugh broke out of him.

"I'm glad you're having fun."

"Oh, don't sweat it, next time ask for directions from anyone instead of just getting lost by yourself."

Scowling at the way his chef was laughing, Sasuke blurted. "Last time I did that, three drunk women played me like a flute, so thanks, but I'd rather keep getting lost."

Naruto quickly remembered that summer night, in which his three reporters of friends had led Sasuke around the festival. The Uchiha truly didn't look all that good with women, and probably those stalking him were the cause. The blond spared the females behind them a look and somehow felt sorry for his friend. Having women stalk you all the time must be awful. Sure, he loved the cute girls to death, but every man needed his alone time. In Sasuke's case, he probably reached a point where every woman was a walking enemy set out to rob him of his relaxation time.

Sending an apologetic look to the women, Naruto tugged his arm under Sasuke's and began leading him to their picnic location. Sounds of disappointment quickly reached his ears. He didn't really stage it to look that way, but if they thought he and Sasuke were an item, then it was their mistake to make.

The handsome male quickly caught on what was happening and he asked. "I don't really mind, but won't your girlfriend object?"

Naruto recalled once telling Sasuke that he didn't have one, so he believed the businessman was simply joking. Not one to ruin a perfect set-up, he played along. "Well she might object but I'm helping you out, so no worries."

"…Oh."

The blond was humming all the way to the picnic, Sasuke allowed their arms to lock at least until he was in the presence of Naruto's staff. No introduction was needed since he was already familiar to all of them, and he himself wasn't so bent upon being introduced. Naruto skipped the formalities and simply invited him to sit down.

The handsome male wasn't used to layouts like these and Naruto could see it, so before Sasuke's body would tell him to return back home, Naruto put forth the other's lunch. It was tuna salad sandwich, done perfectly and with just the right seasonings for Sasuke. Sasuke didn't wait for Naruto's elaborated explanation of his dish and started eating. From the speed he was dining with, he must have been starving.

After he was done, Naruto opened his mouth to ask. "No work today?"

"No. We closed a big deal yesterday so I took today off."

The chef looked at his watch and it read 4:30 PM, another question formed inside his head. "Were you home sleeping until just now then?"

"Not really, I had some places I needed to go. Then I got your message about the change of location for lunch." Sasuke looked at the greenery beside them and asked a question. "Do you always organize these things on Fridays? I remember you told me it was your day off."

"Not always. Usually everyone would take the day to themselves, every now and then we get together to do something fun. Today just happened to be a picnic in a park."

"Then you shouldn't have invited me along," Sasuke reasoned.

Naruto blinked at the odd sentence. "Why?"

"It's a special occasion for you and your staff; I don't fit with this group."

"Sasuke, we've had a lot of these outings, one or two outsiders won't hurt anyone. Besides," The chef chirped out casually. "I always welcome an add to the mix. Everyone always brings a friend, a family member or a partner with them. Choji once brought his mother along; she was a very sweet lady."

Upon remembering Choji's mother and the many dishes she'd brought with her, Naruto chuckled to himself. Even with the long speech, Sasuke still looked uncomfortable. The blond sighed; maybe if they were to go to a play or a restaurant with just the two of them, Sasuke would be more at ease. Yet before he could open his mouth to say anything, the sweet, melodic startled voice of one Hyuuga Hinata cut into his surroundings.

"Sasuke-kun! What are you doing here?"

The raven haired male looked up to see Hinata standing and looking at him with startled eyes. His own possessed the same degree of surprise, but dimmed down to a logical response. Standing up, he made his way to her fragile body and offered a smile that had Naruto catch his breath – the little devil in him that was whispering how he was never given such a smile was shut down, before anything bad could arise.

"Hinata-chan, how have you been?" Sasuke greeted with happiness in his tone.

"Good, good, what about you?" Hinata replied, smiling angelically at him. "Last that I'd heard, you were in France."

"And you were in China seeking some ancient treatment."

The girl sweat-dropped at his teasing and responded with a smile. "That was my grandpa, and he got it."

Sasuke ruffled her hair, causing three pairs of eyes to look at him with shock. Kiba was in the background with a knife waiting to assassinate this foreign hot guy who dared to touch his angel, whilst Shino was doing his best to hold the angry mutt down. Naruto was gawking while surprises were slapping him on the face right and left.

"So I see you're getting better."

Hinata blushed at him – this led to Kiba losing his life-force and descending to nothing but mere pile of mud on the ground – and nodded cheerfully. "Yes, sorry for worrying you."

"A world without you is dim, Hinata-chan, I'm really glad to see you walking in the sun."

A sad smile came over her features at his last words. She looked at him with eyes, knowing exactly well what he meant by those words. Hinata wanted to open her mouth and say that he was also walking in the sun with her, but those charcoal pearls, they told her that his savior was yet to come. He was still sitting near that lake alone, with no one to feel him or be by his side.

Before she could provide him a consoling word, tan arms circled themselves around Sasuke's neck and pulled him backwards. Hinata watched in astonishment as Naruto came into the picture and in less than a second, Sasuke's whole face lit up like a Christmas tree. Everything in him changed, to an outsider who didn't know the handsome male like she did, they wouldn't have seen any difference. But she knew better. Sasuke was laughing, teasing and interacting humanly with another person. To a person that wasn't her or someone from his childhood... Sasuke was… he was…

Walking alongside her in the sun!

Her surprise soon turned into delight and without intending to, tears of happiness started falling down her soft cheeks. Hinata only wiped them gently, afraid that her hazy vision would clear and Sasuke would still be alone. Kiba and Shino were by her side in seconds, Hinata silently thanked God that he gave her all these people to care for her. This was her happiest moment ever; she would forever cherish it.

Sasuke saw the girl cry from the corner of his eye and his smile stretched. Silently he thanked her for her tears, then started walking away. As if on cue, the blond chef was toeing his steps. Naruto had no idea what had happened, but no matter what, he wasn't about to leave before getting the jest out of the black eyed male.

* * *

Naruto raised a bushy golden brow at his friend and questioned. "Ice cream? I never imagined you to be the type."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and commented: "I'm not, you are. Plus, it's too hot for this so just take it."

Not one to miss a free treat, the blond grabbed the ice cream and thanked the other male. Sasuke took a seat beside him and started licking the cream away. The park was still as noisy as it was when he'd first set foot in it, but the noise had grown on his ears by now. It felt just like a serene background. At the beginning, his phobia and awkwardness made him wish he stayed at home. As time passed and Naruto choosing to lead them towards less crowded places, Sasuke found himself able to cope. Maybe a stroll in a park wasn't so bad once in a while.

"Are you going to tell me what all that was about or not?" The chef chose to comment.

"…I've known Hinata-chan since a while back."

"Well duh, a blind man could have guessed that."

Glaring at the idiot beside him, the businessman carried on as if nothing had happened. "Like I said, we've known each other since a while back; her parents were friends with mine so we kinda grew up together. Remember the friend I told you helped me back then?" Sasuke waited for Naruto's affirmative node, before he continued. "That was her. Hinata was the only person who truly knew how I felt inside and silently gave a helping hand. When I was a kid, I'd always run over to her house when it got to be too much. However, that habit died down the first time I saw her collapse. My interactions with her stopped because I didn't want to cause her more problems. Last I'd heard, she'd moved to pursue a treatment. I'm happy to know that she's doing well now… I really am."

The blond knew that Hinata and Neji were cousins, but he didn't know that Hinata was included in Sasuke's childhood. A part of him was jealous that she was able to be there, whereas he couldn't, but another part was glad that at least, Sasuke had someone who cared enough. Naruto gently placed his hand on top of Sasuke's as he gave off a relaxing smile.

"She's well and from now on, she will continue getting better. So Sasuke, you yourself have to get better and catch up to her."

The Uchiha gave Naruto a smile as he played with the tan fingers touching his hands. "I'll do my best."

When they both felt that eyes were staring at them, Naruto was the first to remove his hand. he coughed to clear the strange atmosphere that had formed between them.

"Don't you think it's about time we return? It's getting dark and I'm sure they are searching for us right about now."

Sasuke nodded and got up; he felt the places where Naruto's hand had touched, turning a bit hot. Discarding it as nothing, he tugged his hands in his pockets and followed behind the blond. Momentarily, he thought of how much Naruto's hair resembled beautiful rays of sun, making him feel like a sun was leading his way. Sasuke smiled to himself and gave Naruto the title of _'sun'_ in his mind. Yes, Naruto was just like the sun, lighting up his life, little by little, pulling him away from the darkness he'd presumed to be normal.

He wanted to spend all his life walking with that sun, never to have it shine away from him.

* * *

Naruto said his goodbyes to his staff as he put his stuff in Sasuke's car. Originally he wanted to go back with Sakura and Ino, but since the raven haired male was there and offered to drive him home, who was he to refuse? Getting in the passenger seat, he buckled up just in time for Sasuke to pull away from the park. The chef's mouth was stretched into a calm smile. He saw Sasuke focusing on the road ahead and as their ride was filled with silence, the blond felt his eyes drift off to close.

He didn't come to it until Sasuke's voice called his name, gently shaking him to reality. Naruto yawned as the businessman informed him that they'd reached his apartment. Lazily he got up, stretched his muscles and yawned again, stressing how drained he felt inside.

"What time is it?"

"Nine."

Azure orbs blinked lazily. "Nine? Why did we reach home so late?"

"We didn't," Sasuke corrected, already getting out of the car, "I parked here at seven, but you were sleeping so soundly …waking you up was a mistake."

Here Naruto's heart thumped loudly. The little gestures that Sasuke would always do were putting oil on his fiery emotions, never allowing them to dim or die out. He allowed his cheeks to color slightly as he jokingly remarked:

"If you want the amount of girls stalking you to decrease, you need to do something about that tongue of yours, Uchiha-sama."

Sasuke looked at the blond and noted. "I don't say these things just to anyone… you're the only one I'd go the extra length for."

"Is it because I'm your energy source now?" Naruto continued talking with his joking tone, refusing to make it serious and make his hopes fly.

"…Maybe."

Again, the air around them was getting strange. Naruto got out of the car before anything weird happened. He thanked the handsome male for the ride and took all his belongings from the trunk, making his way to the inside of his building. Yet, not two steps on the stairs, a pale hand pulled him back.

Naruto looked at his friend with confused eyes. "What's wrong? Did I forget anything?"

Sasuke seemed to contemplate whether he should be asking what he wanted, or simply remain silent. Finally, with those azure orbs questioning him, he bit his lower lip and got the words out.

"You… do you really have a girlfriend?"

Trying to absorb what was being enquired of him, Naruto's sapphire eyes glowed, the chef blinked again. Sasuke was behaving as if he didn't know the truth. He frowned and the possibility that the raven haired male had forgotten or that he wasn't paying him any attention when he'd told him about his relationship status came to mind. A naughty smile came to Naruto's lips at this. It meant that all this time, Sasuke had truly believed he had a girlfriend. His heart told him to take pity on the other male and simply tell the truth, but his head told him to see to what extent he could squeeze emotions out of Sasuke with this mouse trap. Going with his head for once, Naruto smirked and answered.

"I do."

A distressed look showed on Sasuke's face, he questioned further. "…What's her name?"

He hadn't thought that far into the lie, but thankfully a name of an old girlfriend came to rescue him back. "Hazuki Mio."

"She wasn't in the picnic today, was she?"

"No, she wasn't –"

"When did you two start dating? I'm sure when we met you told me you had no one in your life."

At this point, Naruto felt his lie crumble a little. The raven haired male clearly remembered his words. So he had to think fast and smart to be able to deceive. Pulling his hand free from Sasuke's grip, which was getting stronger every now and then, Naruto put his bag down and came face to face with the businessman. The best way to defend is to attack, and attack he did.

"Listen here, I met her when I met her, what is it to you? Why are you suddenly turning Sherlock on me? Why are you asking all these questions?"

The black eyed male couldn't look Naruto in the eyes and simply explained what he was feeling. "I don't like it. The idea of you having someone else in your life besides me… I don't like it."

His heart was jumping from happiness by now and, while Naruto refused to drop his act just yet, all he needed was one more push. So continuing with the harsh tone, he questioned. "What's that supposed to mean? I have other people in my life besides you, Sasuke. God I met you a few months back and you think you're number one in my life? Well think again, _baaaakaaaaa_."

He regretted those words the minute he'd said them. It felt like something in Sasuke broke; because shortly after that, he turned away and started walking. The feeling that he'd taken his teasing a little bit too far washed over him. Soon he felt guilty and something told him that if he didn't rush after Sasuke right now, a big rift would form between them.

Quickly he followed the road Sasuke has disappeared onto, yet there were no traces of him. Naruto pulled his cell and dialed his number, but no one answered. His heart was starting to eat at him and just when he wanted to start a searching parade, his eyes caught a glance of the navy blue shirt Sasuke was wearing.

In a flash, he ran as fast as he could after Sasuke. Tackling the raven haired male in an alley, Naruto blurted aloud, before the words he'd uttered would sink into Sasuke's subconscious.

"I'm sorry, I lied! That wasn't the truth! I don't have a girlfriend, there's no Hazuki Mio – well there was, but she's not my girlfriend anymore – I just wanted to tease you a little bit. Sasuke, I'm really sorry!"

The chef opened his eyes when he was done apologizing, he found clear black orbs looking at him. The glitters inside Sasuke's orbs told him that he'd caught the damage before it was too late. Naruto didn't know why, but it felt like if he didn't correct this mistake, Sasuke's trust in him would waver to no avail. Feeling his earlier frustration evaporate with Sasuke's gaze, the chef released a long sigh and slumped over his chest.

"…Not that I object to the public display of intimacy, but you're suffocating my ribcage, so could you please move a little?"

A little embarrassed, the blond chef shuffled his way off Sasuke. Rubbing his head as he provided yet another apology, the raven haired businessman simply waved Naruto's apologies to rest and stated:

"It's fine. I still have no idea why you wanted to lie about something like this, but I get it. You want to keep a distance between us. I respect that, you should have just gotten right out and told me. Playing games like this is bad for both of –"

Before Sasuke could hope to finish his words, tan hands came to pin him strongly to the wall behind them. Naruto pressed his lips, covering the mouth spurting nothing but wrongs. Using every last cell in his body, he tried to imprint upon the handsome male the true feelings he held inside, unable to voice them out loud and hating the idea of being revoked before they even come to light. When Sasuke showed reciprocation, his force had subsided into a passionate kiss. In the middle of the alley, at night, with nothing but a mere pole to shed light on their make-out session, and an audience of a cat, Naruto and Sasuke dove to the depth of passion in each other's arms.

Parting for air, Sasuke moved a stray hair out of Naruto's vision and whispered. "Does this mean you're okay with our distance?"

Breathlessly, a confirmation was given to him. "More than you think."

Sasuke pulled their faces together and kissed Naruto again, showing his own pleasure. A few minutes passed them by until a familiar tune bothered their lovey dovey atmosphere. Not liking the way his time enjoying himself was being interrupted, Sasuke was about to turn off his cell before his eyes caught the caller's ID. Frowning, he put a finger on Naruto's lips and picked up the line.

"What do you want?"

The blond chef felt annoyed that he was being ignored for a silly phone call so as revenge; he began playing with the finger guarding his lips. Sasuke's sight deviated to his assaulted finger and he felt his blood rush south. Naruto was giving a sexy display for his eyes only. Trying to resist the pleasure, the businessman took his finger out of Naruto's mouth and pushed his face away, glaring half-heartedly at the sweet intoxication.

"Yes… yes… no, they can't do that… I already gave strict orders for them not to." Sasuke's face turned to a frown as the person from the other end continued saying things that meant he needed to bring his ass to the office right now. Sighing and half-hard, the raven haired male spat on the line before closing. "Fine, I'll be there shortly."

A protesting scowl showed on the chef's face as he objected. "You're leaving?"

"Work. Sadly, it's something only I can fix."

Sasuke's hand came to fondle the tan cheek that was darkened with the rush of blood; he lowered his face and took a bite. Startled eyes bulged at this behavior but a laugh soon echoed. Feeling his energy return back with brightness, Naruto hit the raven haired male playfully on the arm.

"Well then, you'd better run along. I can't say I'm all that satisfied, but work comes first."

"Oho, you're not satisfied?"

Rolling his eyes at Sasuke's smirk, the chef retorted. "It's not like you're so satisfied yourself, so stop it."

Sasuke nodded. "You're right. For now, it'll have to do, but we'll continue when I come back."

"You're sleeping here today?"

"Of course." he affirmed. "… Or you don't want me?"

The blond shook his head and searched inside his back pocket. A few seconds later, he brought out his keys, searching for the right one; he pulled it out of the chain and handed it to Sasuke. Grinning like a content fox, Naruto shined.

"Here, it's my spare key. You don't need to ring now."

Something inside Sasuke thawed at this. He put a hand to his chest but couldn't quite pinpoint it. Thinking it was better not to think too much about all this, he nodded a thank you as his eyes lost themselves inside Naruto's.

"I'll hold it dear."

With the way Sasuke was staring at him, a blush decorated the blond's cheeks as he got further embarrassed. He wanted to insert some comedy to lessen the burden on his heart, but he just couldn't make his tongue work. Sasuke was hypnotizing him; he was already closing his eyes for another kiss when the voice of the landlady called out his name. His heart cried at the interruption and he sighed inwardly. Turning to the old woman, who was coming their way, Naruto gave her a wave and a smile.

"I'd better go…"

Sasuke whispered in his ear. The hot air made all his senses tingle. Before the black eyed Sasuke could depart, he gave Naruto's hand – that was hidden from the woman's eyes – a squeeze. The coldness of those pale fingers only assured his anxious heart, with that, they parted a sweet departure. A departure with a promise that's known only to their silent hearts.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. Comments and kudos are deeply appreciated *_*.**


	6. Chapter 6

Signaling with his right hand, Naruto ordered: "Yes, those two, bring them here."

As his redhead worker brought out the chairs and placed them on the designated place, the chef fixed the table near the chairs and the restaurant's daily dishes menu – which was displayed outside the restaurant – on the cool pavement. Looking up at the heavens, his eyes turned to content slits at the slightly cloudy atmosphere and the partial sunrays escaping the clouds. Taking a deep breath, he felt his insides celebrate the fresh air. Some passersby waved at him, he waved back, enchanting them with a grin and inviting them to come dine whenever they wished.

Naruto relaxed on one of the chairs with a beam. Just when Gaara was about to head inside the restaurant again, he called out to him. "Wait! Where do you think you're going?"

Confused eyes turned to him as the always quiet redhead spoke. "Inside. To finish chores."

"Nope, you don't." The chef shook his head and winked. "Today I want you to do nothing and just stay and chat with me.~"

"…Am I being fired?"

Blinking at the very odd question, Naruto frowned. "Fired, why?"

Gaara shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't know… you told me to stop doing stuff… so..."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I want to fire you. Gaara, you have been a great help this past month, I think if this restaurant had a _'worker of the month'_ title, which it should, you'd totally take it. Now why would I want to fire someone like you?" Rhetorically, he asked. "I don't, I just thought you've earned a well-deserved day off and I'm giving it to you."

The redhead kept standing and staring at him with skeptical eyes; he couldn't yet believe Naruto totally. Nonetheless, the chef had never lied to him before. There was no reason why he should start now. His insides twisted at the conflict he was given and, being the straightforward male he was, he came right out and said it.

"I don't think I'm being fired; because I've been doing a very good job here, then your words most be truth."

Sweat dropping at the repetition of his own sentences, Naruto nodded, thinking the redhead's past issues might have aroused a suspicion of people in him. "Yes, I just said that. I'm not firing you. Now, come sit with me and let's have some breakfast."

"Out here?" Raising a nonexistent eyebrow, Gaara questioned.

"Do you mind? The weather's nice and some fresh air once in a while is good for the health."

Nodding his acceptance, Gaara took a seat beside the owner of the restaurant. Naruto signaled one of the part-timers to bring the food he'd prepared from the kitchen. A plate of turkey sausage patties, eggs and salad was presented for each, alongside fresh blueberry and almond smoothies. A gust of wind blew them by as Naruto asked his worker to dine.

"So tell me, Gaara, where are you from?" The chef started another line of conversation, holding his fork to eat.

"Do I need to answer that?"

Naruto blinked at yet another eccentric question, but shook his head. "Well I'm not forcing you, it's a simple conversation, you have a right not to answer… but I would like to know."

"Then I decline to answer." Gaara unemotionally spoke, eating with his characteristic poker face. "The minute I stepped foot inside this restaurant, I'd thrown my old life away, so there's no point in discussing it."

"Hmm… so you won't ever talk about it? Not even simple information?"

The redhead countered politely. "There's nothing as simple information. A little thing could make big troubles. So as not to distress anyone in the future or cause any problems, I'm declining."

"You don't really need to take it that far, but I'll honor your decision. Let's eat."

With that they finished their little conversation and stared dining. The redhead had his mind focused the entire time on nothing but eating. He made eye contact a couple of times but otherwise seemed disinterested in conversing. Naruto smiled at their comfortable setting, he allowed himself a deep breath of relieve. Life was good.

* * *

The music was toxic. Every single foot in the restaurant was on the dance floor that night, except the few who chose the sidelines, watching. Naruto twirled with the beautiful girl in his arms and Sakura laughed. Besides them Chōji was making a rhythm with Ino. Strangely enough, the chubby male was very light on his feet. Ino seemed to be having the time of her life; she always loved dancing and, apparently, Chōji was the perfect dancing partner. The music shifted to a quick beat and with it, the movement of the people on the floor.

Sai was the one responsible of the music, so immersed in it was he. On the far side of the room, Shikamaru was standing in a corner, smoking while tapping his feet to the beat. Three part-timers were making a commotion beside him, urging their friend to take a dance with them. Shaking his head, the intelligent male simply sufficed with pattering. Three feet from them, Shino was accompanying TenTen, Ino's friend from college who she'd invited to the party, and having a nice time with her.

The guest of honor, Hyuuga Hinata, was asked on the dance floor by Kiba. He blushed as she took his hand, fixing the bowtie on his neck. He was still unaccustomed to it, but since the occasion demanded formal attire, the dog-lover obliged willingly. Hinata had her hair braided in two pleats from the front that collected with an expensive looking pin to the back, curling neatly as it cascaded to reach her scapula. Her hair clutched her dark mauve, sleeveless cocktail dress. As she tried to match her partner's moves, she stumbled a little – dancing wasn't really her forte – but looking at the male accompanying her, Hinata glowed with a smile. He was the worst dancer ever.

Relaxing a little from the pressure, she allowed her body to slide with the music, paying no attention to how she looked. Dancing well or not, it didn't matter. As long as she had Kiba, they could be the worst couple at dancing and she won't care at all.

Naruto was lost with Sakura. The girl brought out the dancer in him, his body automatically tuned to hers. With every beat, they changed position; all eyes were focused on them. Right now, if this was a competition, there was no wonder they'd win without any obstacle. Finally, with the dimming down of the music and Sai deciding to end his piece and start a new one, the two stopped dancing. Glowing, Sakura beamed as she bowed and skipped away, thanking the chef for the lovely dance. Naruto smiled at her retreating form and ran a hand through his hair.

Two minutes later, his eyes started scanning the crowd, in the far side, away from the music and the lights, sat one Uchiha Sasuke. He was serenely sipping his wine. Naruto was by his side in seconds, with a smile on his face.

"Handsome," The Uchiha was the first one to speak, robbing Naruto of his chance. "You clean up well, indeed."

Naruto smirked proudly at his white shirt, brown vest, tie, and pants, before he bowed as thanks. "All for your compliment, baby."

Rolling his eyes at the jokey male, the black eyed Sasuke gave off a charming offer. "I'd enjoy taking them off you tonight."

"Now, now, now." A tan finger was raised at his tease. "Who told you I'm that easy to buy? You need to butter me up first."

"I thought we got that covered already."

Winking, Naruto denied with a shake of his head. "You call complimenting my clothes buttering me up? Uchiha Sasuke… you have no taste in flirting."

With a tone that made Naruto wish he could hit the smug male in the face, the Uchiha opposed. "I don't need to flirt to get anyone; people throw themselves at my mercy."

And he was right. People did throw themselves at his mercy – actually more than he liked. Be it due to his fame, money or looks, he got the girls and, from what Sakura had said, a couple of guys begging to become his. Naruto cringed at that and felt his counter-attacks come to an end. Sasuke was able to defeat him this time, though he used an underhanded method, mentioning his own popularity in front of another male, he won over him. Puffing his cheeks to show his dissatisfaction, Naruto changed the topic.

"Why aren't you dancing, by the way?"

Sasuke smirked at Naruto and the blond rolled his eyes. He didn't want to comment on the topic change and enjoyed his victory. To answer the chef, Sasuke waved his hand and spoke: "I'm not a fan."

"Dancing has nothing to do with 'like', we're doing it to have fun."

"And who told you I'm not?" Sasuke asked with a raised brow. "Just because I'm not dancing, doesn't mean I'm not having fun."

Naruto beamed and pulled one of the chairs to sit next to him. "Alright, then I'll accompany you. It's sad seeing you alone."

"You need not worry about me… loneliness isn't so frightening."

"Uchiha Sasuke, do you dislike my company?"

"No, I just don't want you to waste time with me… besides; you were really shining out there. My eyes were caught."

Naruto's beam widened further if possible and he concealed his blush. "Well yeah, I like dancing that's why… but I bet you'd dance better than me."

Sighing, the raven haired male stated. "You won't shut up until I dance, won't you?"

"Nope~"

"Fine, stand up," Sasuke urged as he did so himself. "Let's go dance."

The chef blinked at the abruptness of the request and asked a little baffled. "Together?"

"You had another person in mind?"

"…Yes, the girls. Two guys dancing together –" he scowled at the scene in his head. "– that won't look good."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Dancing is dancing. Gender has nothing to do with it. I thought you were inviting me to dance with you, but if you prefer a girl, then I'll go ask one myself."

Not even waiting for the chef to form a proper answer, Sasuke was out of his sight in seconds. The next thing Naruto knew, Hinata and Sasuke were heating up the dance floor with some waltz. A part of him felt cheated when the businessman brought out his full-on-game and wowed the eyes of everyone attending, while another part wanted to murder the him, which turned Sasuke down.

He was the one crushing hard onto Sasuke, why would he refuse such a lovely request!?

The demons inside of him told him why. He'd probably stumble or do something reckless – like kiss Sasuke in the heat of the moment or worse, get hard – and that wouldn't be good for either of them. He hated his self-control that seemed to not want to do its job anymore, especially when Sasuke was inserted in the picture. Naruto looked around and sure thing, Kiba was fuming at the sidelines. He giggled to himself and his giggle turned into a laugh when his eyes fell on Shikamaru, the three part-timers had already forced him on the dance floor. Least to say, the reason to his decline was known: the intelligent individual was one lousy dancer.

He couldn't even coordinate between the movements of his joints. It was like watching a duck swim on dirt. Probably, he was thinking a lot about the mechanism of dancing rather than go with the flow, something that would have saved them all a lot of time and effort.

Upon hearing a set of applause, Naruto's attention deviated to the source of his heartache. He cringed when their eyes met and a leer was given to him. Sasuke was really enjoying rubbing this whole _'l'm better than you at dancing'_ on his face. Not one to love losing a battle, Naruto went to Sakura and asked her to join him again. Happily, she agreed.

An intense clash started between the two. It heated up in a matter of seconds and all eyes were captivated. Naruto and Sasuke provided a vicious yet thrilling dance for the audience to behold. From nowhere, a new level of dancing was being established right there, on that dance floor shimmering with reflected lights. Sasuke, however, had the upper hand in this, for every time Naruto started topping with a move, the Uchiha would come slamming him down again. It reached a point where the audience was simply gesturing for the blond to call it quits and raise his white flag. In their eyes, his opponent was a god of dance.

The lovely evening had continued up to one after midnight, in which Naruto finally called it a night and everyone started leaving, thanking him for such a wonderful occasion. The party had been made for Hinata. The new treatment she was undertaking was proving to be effective, she was looking healthier each passing day. To celebrate all that, Kiba had suggested they throw a party and close the restaurant for a day in her honor. Since Hinata provided a big part of Kiba's, Shino's and Sasuke's lives, Naruto couldn't refuse him. In fact, he felt indebted to the lilac eyed beauty for being there for Sasuke. A party was the least she deserved.

Deciding on an intimate event, with the coworkers, their friends and Hinata's friends, he couldn't not invite Sasuke. Besides the fact that he and Hinata went way back, Naruto wanted to share the celebration with him.

After they'd finished cleaning the place, the chef had volunteered to be the one to close-up. When he was about to put away the records, a pale hand stopped him. Naruto wanted to question Sasuke's actions, but calmly the businessman put a CD he had in the player. Two seconds later, a slow rhythm filled the stillness. The beat was quiet but soothing. It resonated inside him loudly. Sasuke stood in the center of the dance floor and extended his right hand while his left was held behind his back.

Like a total gentleman, he was asking Naruto for a dance. While the blond was looking at him dumb-founded, Sasuke whispered his intensions.

"There's no one to watch us, so would you please give me this dance?"

Naruto felt a switch in him go off, he sensed himself fill with delight. In a second, he gave off his hand. Slowly they were able to fix their positions and moves with the beat. The blond didn't know what type of dance they were doing, but perhaps a little bit of waltz mixed with different moves. Their bodies fit perfectly, sometimes he felt Sasuke's lead was too gentle and he wanted to shout that he wasn't a female, but then looking inside those dark eyes… his tongue was too heavy to work.

They ended up dancing until their feet failed them. Sasuke was the one to break the dance, showing how little stamina he really had. He slumped in a chair and drank a bottle of water; Naruto was beside him in seconds.

"That was amazing! This was the dance of the night!"

Breathlessly Sasuke smirked out a reply. "I told you… the most fun is when we dance together."

"Next time," Naruto grinned. "I won't disagree with you."

"You better not."

Taking a different bottle and watering his thirst, Naruto stood up with his hands on his hips. "Well now that everything's over, we should go home. You have work tomorrow?"

"Yes, I don't think I can stay the night or come tomorrow though. I have a lot of meetings."

The blond raised a brow but couldn't pass the tease that came to him. He put his hand on his vest and tugged it slightly. "I thought you couldn't wait to get this off me."

Sasuke immediately recognized the coy tone, and blurted: "And I thought you weren't for sale."

"I didn't say that, I said you need to offer the right price."

"Which is?"

Feeling like he had the upper hand finally, Naruto decided to put his crush in distress. "It won't be any fun if I told now, would it?"

"…I knew you were going to say that."

"Then you're starting to know me well."

With that, Sasuke closed the distance between them and locked his lips with Naruto's. He gave him a deep kiss that allowed heat to generate between them. Naruto could feel the back of his tongue grow hotter with the air from their friction. As always, when they kissed, his soul elevated and soared. Sasuke broke the kiss, but before he could move his face away, Naruto gave him two chaste ones, permitting himself another taste.

"Was that enough to buy you?"

Tapping Sasuke on his chest, Naruto chortled. "Not. Even. _Close_."

The businessman sighed. "This will take a lot then."

"Good things need working for."

Sasuke gave him one of the smiles he adored and swiftly, Naruto mirrored him with enrichment. Actually, if Sasuke hadn't mentioned being too busy to attend, the chef would have forgotten that he was the owner to a large company. Naruto was always expecting Sasuke to be there every single day to dine. Even though he was always busy, Sasuke made sure not to disappoint him. As much as he disliked Sasuke's bad schedule, he was thankful at times. That night, when they'd first interacted sexually with Sasuke having a cold, the next day, he himself was infected and sleeping at home sick.

In the pit of his stomach, he didn't want Sasuke to know – recalling when the raven haired male had asked his phone number the first time, and how guilty he looked when he thought he was the one who had given Naruto a fever – and feel responsible again. As his fever, cold and fatigue wore him down and all, Sasuke's work had kept him away from Naruto's house, and from questioning why the blond refused to offer him meals.

Looking back on that incident, maybe it wasn't fair what he did to Sasuke, but really… he hated giving Sasuke bad emotions. The few smiles that he worked so hard to see were his treasures. He wanted Sasuke's days to be filled with happiness and positivity and God forbid, he got strayed away.

"Well," Naruto spoke, trying to end their heated stare, seeing as if they continued looking at each other, something else would be the result. "It'll be lonely, but work is work."

"…Yeah."

As Sasuke leaned forward again, close to his face, Naruto knew what he wanted to do and gladly, he pampered. The dim yellow tinted lights of the restaurant were giving the two males the perfect scene. If a photographer was present, the picture would have been made into a beautiful frame, showing a moment of trust and faith. A moment where Naruto felt his life couldn't get any better. A moment that came right before a destructive hurricane.

* * *

"Why are you being so stubborn?"

Naruto glared at the charming male and refused to soften his features. Neji sighed and drank his coffee. They were sitting outside on the veranda of Sakura's apartment. The blond didn't know his friend had invited Neji or he wouldn't have come. Since the day when the brunet had invaded Sasuke's privacy and told him things he didn't need to know, the blond had stopped talking to him. Maybe it was going too far and perhaps a bit childish, but he wanted to make that point clear. Talking about someone's private life was something he didn't indulge in, especially when said someone had a horrific tragedy strike his home.

"Naruto-kun, don't tell me you're still sulking about before?"

"Sulking about what?" The melodic voice of Sakura came from the inside.

Neji looked at Naruto and smirked. "Something related to –"

Naruto's hands clomped over his mouth, preventing him from finishing his sentence. A murderous aura surrounded the chef as he threatened. "Not. Another. Word."

When Neji nodded his acceptance, Naruto moved his hands away. The patisserie smiled charmingly, before he muttered. "If you don't want Sakura-chan to know, I advise you to stop your attitude, because even if I don't say anything, behaving like that, she would know something's up."

"Neji, what were you saying?" Sakura's voice came from the kitchen, making Naruto frown and reminding him of her quick nature to sense things. "I couldn't hear you."

"Fine!" Naruto childishly folded his hands on his chest. "Just don't tell her."

The beautiful Hyuuga gave a lovely smile at this, he shouted his reply to Sakura. "It's nothing, dear. I was talking about Gaara. Is he making trouble in the restaurant?"

A minute after that question, Sakura emerged from inside with a tray of cocktails. She tucked the door closed with her foot and sat down. The weather these days was gorgeous. The cool breeze and cloudy skies, it was her favorite. Spring this year was really blooming her way. The beautiful female tucked a stray lock behind her ear, showing her golden earring, before answering.

"Gaara-kun is very good, Neji. I think he's the perfect worker in the whole restaurant."

"Better than you?" Neji inquired with a smile.

Sakura laughed and honestly replied. "Give him a few months and he will be."

"How about you, Naruto, do you think her words are true?"

Since he promised the Hyuuga that he would talk and stop glaring at him, the chef rolled his eyes and provided an answer, still trying to keep from lashing out at his friend.

"Yes, that's true. Gaara is a very diligent worker… if my entire staff was like him, I would be in heaven."

The pink haired waitress was the one who replied him. "Naruto, if we all were like him, I doubt we'd be working in your small restaurant. We'd go to a place where it really pays."

"Well, excuse me for having a small restaurant."

Sakura grinned. "I am."

Before a heated teasing would issue between the old pals, Neji took a sip from his cocktail and commented. "Banana, strawberry, guava, orange and… do I taste some avocados?"

Face lighting up with his words, Sakura nodded. "Yes, you got all of them right, as always. I put the avocados at the end, for nutrition. I don't really like it all that much, but it helps with keeping healthy so…"

She trailed off with a shrug. Neji nodded, taking another sip. "It tastes wonderful; you can hardly even guess the presence of the avocado."

Being intrigued by their conversation, Naruto drank some of the cocktail. His summary was the same as the patisserie, but he was able to tell Sakura just what seasonings she used with the fruits. The girl was happily chatting with them about school, her new projects and hobbies, even the new plan she had in mind for the restaurant's financial situation. Naruto gave a listening ear as well as Neji. They helped her with some ideas for her projects, since she was studying business, the one with the biggest help was the Hyuuga – he had more shops and cafés than Naruto.

Two hours later found Sakura inside on her phone, talking to Ino about the project they had together, while her two best friends were sitting outside chatting. Neji took the chance and extended a hand to Naruto.

"Listen, Naruto-kun, I apologize for the way I broke out the conversation last time –"

"Neji, please," the blond interrupted, putting his hands up to stop him. "I don't want to hear it. I've already talked to Sasuke and he told me everything… I'm okay with it, so you don't have to worry and let's put a lid on all this."

Lilac orbs seemed to cloud with Naruto's words, he scowled. "…Just what did he tell you exactly?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but he told me about his past, I know it all. Now, let's change –"

"Everything about his past, Naruto?" Neji stressed. " _Everything_?"

The chef didn't appreciate the way his friend was insinuating. It made it sound like Sasuke was hiding something from him. He knew the Hyuuga meant well about all this, wanting him to know who he was getting intimate with, but then again, it was none of his business. What happened between him and Sasuke was between them. Unless he was going to turn into another Sakura, Naruto felt no obligation to be forced to reveal their secrets.

"…"

When it was apparent that the chef refused to let him in, Neji sighed. "Naruto, I don't want to put my nose where it doesn't belong, but I'd hate seeing you get hurt and doing nothing. Uchiha Sasuke is dangerous. Please, stay away from him."

"…Neji, I appreciate what you're doing, but so far, I've seen nothing dangerous. He has never done anything that signaled that I should stay away, so regardless of what you know, I trust him."

"Even if I told you, he killed someone?"

Immediately, Naruto mounted to defend Sasuke. "No, he didn't. The guy was the one who cut his own femoral artery; Sasuke had nothing to do with it! Besides, he was just a kid…"

With that, Neji stood up and walked inside the apartment for a while. Just when Naruto believed the other male had dropped the topic, he came back with the key to the veranda. First he drew the curtains, then he stepped outside and locked the door. Sakura wouldn't be able to see nor hear them. Having made sure that they had ultimate privacy, Hyuuga Neji lost all sense of humor and came right out to say it, discarding Naruto's wish to listen or not.

"Uchiha Sasuke was eight years old when his parents and big brother died. He was the only survivor. After that, family number one took him in. Not a week later, the father of said family was found dead. Sasuke was given to family number two. Three weeks later, the mother was found dead. Again, Sasuke was given to family number three; this family had shown Sasuke torture. They locked him in a chicken cage, fed him only the bare minimum and intimidated him to the edge. Sasuke was found three months later, bleeding half way to death and with the whole family dead. Now the police had investigated thoroughly all this. They pinpointed that one way or another, Sasuke was the one who did it. But he was a kid and they had no solid proof so they had to let him go. After that, no relatives of his dared to take him in as he was known as the god of death. Sasuke brought a person whom he paid regularly to act as his guardian until he comes of age."

Neji didn't take his eyes off Naruto the whole time he spoke; he didn't take a second to rest or give Naruto time to tell him to stop talking.

"When all thought that, finally, the Uchiha household was free of blood, the guardian was found dead. Sasuke was seventeen at the time, and like the previous cases, there was no evidence. Sasuke remained in the care of the state for year until he reached adulthood. No one wanted to affiliate with him. He was all alone. The state allowed him to live in the mansion and conduct the proper education for his class, yet they would send someone to check on him every month. Everything settled until he turned eighteen."

Naruto's eyes were as wide as a teacup. His senses were shaking and he couldn't even dare his mouth to move and silence Neji. The Hyuuga was kept talking.

"Uchiha Sasuke made a name for himself, made his companies grow and isolated himself in his mansion. In the rich-community, he had no friends. He was an outcast. His history has a lot of blood and mysteries in it; no one wants to get close. That's why, Naruto, I'm begging you, stay away from him. No one knows the whole truth about him. He might have killed all those people –"

"And he might not have." Naruto finally found his voice, it was a little coarse, but it was better than nothing.

"Yes, there are a lot of possibilities, but the bottom line is, your safety is in danger. If he's a killer, one day you might wake up with a slit throat. I don't know what your relationship with him is or what deal you two have struck together, but I do know this, that person is cursed."

A chill ran down the chef's body. He was shaken. His head was blank, not even questions registered. All that he knew was this: he wanted to find Sasuke and talk to him as soon as possible. Neji looked at his friend's clear orbs, which had darkened with the information, his core shook but he knew he needed to tell him. If he was in Naruto's shoes, and was walking to the edge by his own two feet, he'd want friends who would betray his trust in order to save his life.

"I… I need to talk to him…"

Closing his eyes, the Hyuuga agreed. "I don't wish to see you do that, but I won't stop you if you want to. Just be careful. Don't do anything that would make him hurt you."

"S-Stop saying that, please… stop… Sasuke is a good person, he's never and would never hurt me…"

His words came out as a faint whisper; it felt like they were more to assure his lost self than actual words for Neji. The long haired male understood what his friend was going through, and wishing to still be friends, he opened the veranda door and allowed Naruto inside.

Sakura was before them in seconds, chirping about something. Neji politely told her that something had come up and they needed to leave. Sakura looked at Naruto and, immediately, her eyes went wide. She wanted to question about what had happened, but the patisserie told her that he'd explain at a later date. Sakura hated that she was kept in the dark, but Naruto didn't look in the mood to converse. She bid them goodbye and watched as they got in Neji's car and left her compound.

Her chest tightened and she prayed that everything was alright.

* * *

A tan hand reached for the water switch and turned it on. Naruto allowed his thoughts and anxieties to be swept away with the flow of the shower. Extending his neck backwards, he closed his eyes. His spiked locks were softened by the water, and as they fell on his forehead, Naruto brushed them to the back. He took a deep breath and released it on a sigh. Neji's words were replaying inside his mind, rattling everything within him.

The chef felt a mixture of emotions as his thoughts were unclear. He really needed to talk with Sasuke… but the raven haired male was nowhere to be found. The line he had left him was out of service and he just couldn't go so far to his house to question him. After all, Neji might have gotten some information wrong. Naruto didn't want to show his uncertainty to the businessman until he had to. Besides, Sasuke gave him no reason to ever doubt his innocence. He wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Extending his hands and using them as support on the wall, Naruto felt his heart squeeze tightly. Right now, he knew perfectly well that he was in love with Sasuke. He was long past the ' _having a crush'_ phase; in fact, he was closer to pledging eternal love for the other male. The corner of his mouth stretched into a smile as he imagined himself kneeling on one knee, giving his hand for Sasuke to take. Like some fairytale movie, he was the prince who would sweep Sasuke off his feet. Yes… if only life was that easy…

Turning the switch off, he got out of the tub and pulled a towel around his waist. Wiping the fog off his mirror, the chef looked at his reflection. A grim face lustered back. He frowned and detested his features. This wasn't like him – getting gloomy and losing his grip from information that he didn't even know was real – he was a man for God's sake! He was the source of positivity and the one who was supposed to cure Sasuke's illness! He couldn't face him with such a face!

Slapping his hands hard on his cheeks, the blond winced at the pain and quickly, blood colored them. Sighing at his stupidity, he rubbed his cheeks and commented.

"…I hope he doesn't notice."

If Neji's words were true, that meant that Sasuke had lied – no, hid – a great part of the story from him. He trusted him and the only reason which came to his mind was Sasuke's potential fear. The raven haired male had probably thought that if he shared his whole history, Naruto would flee. If that were true, he wasn't too far from reality. If anyone was told they were befriending a possible murderer, they'd disappear faster than the speed of light. Nonetheless, that wasn't him.

With that reason, Sasuke not telling him could be justified. Naruto frowned the next second as another thought popped inside his head. The businessman should have trusted him more… he should have given him the benefit of the doubt, and believed that he'd stick around. Naruto didn't think he did anything to not earn it; in fact, his middle name should be –

His line of thinking was brought to a halt when a clicking sound reached his ears. Deciding to see who came into his apartment so late, the blond left the bathroom and, as he turned to peek into the living room, a voice came behind of him.

"Now, that's a pose I won't mind seeing every day."

Naruto blushed and quickly faced the opposite way, his hands came to rest on his ass as the not-so-long towel hugged it tightly. "S-SASUKE! Pervert!"

"I think the pervert here was the one sticking his ass on the front door for all to see." A cool smirk came the blond's way.

"S-Shut up! I wasn't sticking out my ass! I was peeking into the living room!"

Getting rid of his monks, Sasuke stepped inside the apartment. He put the bag he was carrying on the kitchen counter, before asking: "And why would you be peeking into your living room?"

Naruto had by then replaced the short towel with a longer one, not trusting the raven haired male not to look, and wrapped another around his hair. Releasing a grunt of embarrassment, he explained:

"I heard a click; I forgot you had a spare key…"

Sasuke came to sit next to Naruto – on the new sofa he'd failed to go with him to get – and made himself comfortable. Extending his hand, he rubbed the towel on Naruto's head; the blond allowed him the moment and did nothing to resist when Sasuke tilted his head for a kiss. He kissed back while cool black orbs looked at him fondly. That look made Naruto feel a little guilty about the turmoil going on inside his head a while back in the bathroom.

"I'm home."

"Welcome back." He answered Sasuke and shook the guilt out of his way.

"Thanks."

Trying to change the mood and the atmosphere, the chef looked at the bag Sasuke had brought. "What's that?"

"My subordinates were saying how delicious that shop's macaroons were. I had to bring you some."

"Oh~ Sounds tasty. Wait, let me go change first."

The Uchiha allowed the blond to slip out of his fingers and disappear to change. Five minutes later, a fully dressed Naruto was rummaging through the box of macaroons. Different colors highlighted the delicious treats. His mouth watered at a green one, soon enough, he was gulping it down like there was no tomorrow. Sasuke sat on the sidelines watching him. When Naruto urged him to participate, he took hold of one and chewed it. Luckily, his body didn't revolt at the taste. In the end, he gave off a smile – the macaroons were really good.

"It's pleasant." The businessman commented. "Won't mind another, in fact."

A beam plastered upon Naruto's face. He took hold of a red macaroon and put it between his lips. As he was leaning towards the other, Sasuke got the message. Their lips met in a tasting-dance. The filling smeared inside their mouths. Sasuke smirked into the kiss and pulled Naruto close, he was forced to lay back onto the sofa as Naruto put all of his weight on top of him.

When the macaroon has disappeared down Sasuke's throat, the chef chirped. "Wish granted~"

"Indeed."

They smiled at each other and Naruto was the first to talk. "You know, Sasuke," he started, eyes scanning the raven haired male's face. "You're not so bad looking. I can see why you have so many admirers."

"Does that mean you're included?" With simpering features, the Sasuke replied.

"Hmm… I'd have to think about it; after all, I'm not so bad myself."

"Certainly, you're not."

To demonstrate his affectionate opinion, Sasuke stole another kiss from Naruto. When a blush showed on the other male's cheeks, he felt a sense of longing and desire vibrates within him. So far, the raven haired male hadn't given his affiliation with Naruto any serious thought. He had allowed himself to be swept with the moment. If he felt like kissing, he'd kiss; if he felt like getting closer, he'd get closer; and if he felt something sexual, he'd act upon it. Sasuke didn't want to put too much thought into it, either. He didn't want to realize any sort of feelings he might harbor for the chef; simply because…

He didn't trust himself with Naruto.

Part of what made their interactions so fun and light on the heart, was knowing it wasn't permanent. They were playing on the borders of friendship and love. Not totally falling into any commitments with either. Well… that's how the businessman thought of it, at least. He valued Naruto as an existence he truly needed in his current timeline, but he couldn't predict how his emotions and thoughts might change in the future. Therefore, he kept a realistic approach to understanding their relationship.

"Uchiha, hey you," Naruto called those black pearls that seemed to stare into space, back to him. "What are you thinking about?"

"You."

Naruto hung his head low at the instant response, then sighed. A part of him wanted to believe that Sasuke was showering him with flirts because he liked him, but another part, a bigger part, was claiming that Sasuke was simply a natural-born flirt. Maybe he wasn't aware of it yet, but he was. So the cook shouldn't get flustered by every charming thing that left those lips.

"Well thank you very much, but might I enquire of the reason?"

"One," Sasuke began, eyes locked on his undefined one. "Your elbows are hitting my ribcage, breathing will be a problem very soon." Naruto grinned at this and Sasuke continued. "Two, I was thinking of whether you'd like to go out with me tonight for dinner?"

"Is that a date you're asking of me?" Playfully, Naruto questioned.

"Will we not go out if it wasn't?" With a raised brow, Sasuke countered.

"We will, but I’d hoped upon one. Don't forget, I'm a charming individual who should be taken on dates~ You shouldn't neglect the heart."

The businessman rolled his eyes, then egged Naruto off him. Being able to breathe right again, he said: "Fine, consider it a date."

Happy that he'd won the argument, Naruto jumped to question. "Where are you taking me?"

"…To a very special place."

The quiet smile that washed over Sasuke's face, tied all of the chef's upcoming questions. He gave an uncertain smile back, before he went to get ready, feeling his heart beat harder with every passing minute. Naruto’s days with Sasuke were like fragments of a nice dream, he wished to savor them before the day to awaken hit him. Because, when it came, he'd have to make the hardest decision ever:

To reach for his hand and attain or leave and regret.

* * *

The forecast had predicated cloudy weather, but the downpour that Naruto's eyes were witnessing told him differently. He wanted to comment with a joke, but one look at Sasuke's face told him that it wasn't the time. The black eyed Uchiha had a serious expression, almost miserable, ruling his features. Currently they were inside Sasuke's car. The blond had no idea where they were heading, Sasuke had refused to inform him. Staying silent, he played along.

They drove through the dark streets, highlighted only by flickers from lamp poles, until, finally, they made their stop before a villa. The place was far smaller than Sasuke's house, it looked deserted. Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine. He didn't know if it was from the house or the cold weather given by the falling rain. Before he could utter a word of questioning though, the businessman grimly spoke.

"It's my relative's place. My third uncle, twice removed."

Blinking, Naruto had to ask. "Why are we here?"

"Because there's something I need to tell you."

"Can't you do that somewhere else?"

Sasuke gave a sad smile and unlocked the doors. Stepping outside, he gestured for Naruto to do the same. The blond obliged with uneasiness ruling his body. Even though the rain was drenching both of them, the atmosphere didn't permit the chef to point it out. Sasuke had already opened the front door and in they went. The villa was dark and it felt as if no one had lived in it for a long time. There was no visible dust and the furniture looked preserved, but it didn't give the feeling that people were occupying it.

Naruto followed behind Sasuke closely, not liking the aura the place exuded. Finally, they entered what appeared to be an office. Sasuke went to the fireplace on the left side of the room and lit it. In a matter of seconds, the room was ablaze in an ethereal orange hue as the fireplace warmed it up. The rain hadn't drenched them too much, so taking his jacket off, Naruto relaxed in one of the armchairs provided. Sasuke followed him keenly and did the same.

"Then? Are you going to tell me the reason we are here or I need to wait for a ghost to pop out?"

A smile showed on the Uchiha's face at that. He relaxed his body and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes though, he took note of the male before him. Uzumaki Naruto, the chef who made him start living, the one who taught him what it meant to care for people again… the presumed _'sun'_ in his life. He never wanted to discuss his past actions or allow himself a justification, but… he feared that if he continued lying, a day would come where the things that he'd been holding dear would disappear, vanishing from his field of vision.

… _Fear_. Sasuke laughed inwardly; the last time that word had flashed inside his mind, he'd lost his whole family.

"Naruto," he steadied his heart and opened his mouth. "Everything I have told you up until now was a lie."

A loud thump echoed inside Naruto's being and he dreaded whatever was coming next.

"The past I've created for you to think I'm well... _normal_ , it was a lie..."

When Neji's past words surfaced, the blond's anxiety was pounding hard on his heart. "…Sasuke –"

"Until I finish, I'd appreciate no interruption," the businessman stressed; he gave Naruto a firm look that sent chills down his back. "Well not everything is a lie. I kept part of the truth. My parents and big brother had truly died in an accident. Itachi did save me, and I was taken into numerous families and they indeed were bad to me. However, what I'd lied about was the actions I, myself, have taken."

Since he was ordered not to interrupt, Naruto kept his mouth shut and only observed with apprehension.

"When I was staying in my uncle's house, I overheard him and his wife talking. They'd known my father was driving that day and they paid a guy to tamper with the car. Their plan was to kill my family and fabricate documents to allow the Uchiha fortune to fall into their hands. Unfortunately for them, I survived. I was only eight so I didn't know what I should do… my mind was in a daze, and I stopped eating. They tried to force me – because every month my parents' attorney would come and make sure I was alright – but I didn't want to. I was too young to know that my actions did nothing but aggravate them… in the end, I collapsed and was given some IVs to live."

A sad, almost mocking, smile came over Sasuke's lips as he voiced his truth.

"You'd think that they'd feel guilty. They killed a family for money and starved a child; if they had a single shard of humanity, I wouldn't have done what I did."

"W-What," Naruto wet his dry throat and re-asked, fearing the answer already. "What did you do, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's eyes, as he spoke shone with unnatural hue, and with every syllable, the chef was losing his hold on reality.

"I killed him."

All the past words that Neji had told him were now coming to reality. Like a flood, they gushed out and overwhelmed him. Honestly, when his friend had said them, Naruto had this little part that couldn't believe. He refused the concept that Sasuke was able to take a life – this black eyed male was very gentle with him, the soul he came to know was rather warm and gentle… a soul unable of killing anyone… but…

"I can still remember him begging for help. He screamed and screamed but he was unworthy. Just like how my family was unworthy of death, he was unworthy of life. He deserved to die." The Uchiha stood from the armchair and lost himself in his thoughts. "As I was taken away from them, I was glad the perpetrator to my tragedy was dead. I'd believed I was rid of unhappiness, but my life was going downhill. My second relatives were far worse and vicious, that woman," he released a dark chuckle. "She was so dumb. She thought she could sugar-talk me into giving her money… I didn't even need to kill her; she killed herself on her own."

By now Naruto's ears were numb to everything he heard. It was like a switch had been pressed and he just couldn't stop it. As if his lips were foreign to him, he asked aloud.

"How did she die?"

"Oh," the businessman paused dramatically, "You want to know? Well I don't really care, but I'll tell you… she fell from the fifth floor window and broke her neck. While she was trying to persuade me to get the money for her, I didn't and she tried to use violence. At the end of the day, she had herself to blame."

"Who else, Sasuke, who else was killed?"

Sasuke lost the sinister smile he had on his lips and looked sideways at Naruto. Blinking, he got close to the chef and breathed in the cologne that surrounded him.

"What makes you think I had other encounters with death?"

Neji's face was the first thing that popped inside Naruto's head; he refused to look Sasuke in the eyes and at the same time, didn't want to lie to him. He squeezed his eyes shut and was about to tell the whole truth, but a husky voice preceded his, and disappointment was shown clearly to him.

"Is it because Hyuuga Neji has already told you everything?"

With eyes that didn't believe what was jetted its way, a cold shiver ran down Naruto's spine. He tried to ask baffled. "H-How did you know?"

"Nothing stays a mystery in this world, Naruto-kun; you really thought you could dig up dirt on me without me knowing?"

"It's not what you think –"

A pale hand was raised, stopping him from any sort of excuse he wanted to tell. "The funny thing is, if you had asked me, I'd have come right out and told you. Just like I told you that night. It's my past; I'm not ashamed of it. Everything I've done, I did it to survive and I'd do it all over again."

"Sasuke –"

"The third house I was taken to," the businessman interrupted Naruto again, clearly telling him to shut it. "It was the worst by far. They didn't even try to disguise the fact they took me in for the money. I was given a room in a shed… no, that hell wasn't even worthy of being a shed, it was a rotten dungeon even animals shouldn't be kept in. The woman who's cared for me, she had a policy: _'to eat, you work'_. So I worked. I did chores around the house at the beginning, then it escalated to tending to her extravagant guests. I still remember a guy wanting to buy me," Sasuke chuckled darkly, making Naruto's mood squeeze with agony. "The shithead didn't know I had a fortune that could buy him and his worthless life away. When it got too rough to bear, I decided it was time to leave, so I tipped my parents' attorney that I was being mistreated. I made it look like she'd starved me and made me eat from toilets and chicken pens. Finally, he, together with child services, took me away, but not after I made a blood bath happen between her and her important _guests_."

Naruto bit his lip and wanted to interrupt, but the male hovering over him had eyes that told him to can it since he wasn't done. Not until the story Naruto wished so hard to know was spelt out for him. The chef shouldn't have asked, shouldn't have pried; he should have allowed secretes to stay secrets, because once a secret is out, there was no taking it back.

"The fourth family that took me in was distant relatives, an old couple. I actually liked that place. I'm not too sure, but I think they liked having me there… they were too weak to do anything themselves so I had a full schedule with them. In the end, grandma caught something and died after three months of staying there… as if being called by his wife, grandpa lost all the will to live and, as an act of compassion, I overlooked as he overdosed on his medications. It all happened a month later. I was back to square one at that point. Therefore, before the court would decide to ship me off to someplace else, I decided to be my own savior and paid one of my relatives to take custody over me."

Sasuke returned back to his armchair, the yellow light they were under highlighted his cheekbones, allowing his eyes to glitter mischievously. He wet his lips and continued with the events of his life.

"We remained good for a while, but when my seventeenth birthday was coming close, he knew his custody – thus the free money – would be revoked so he blackmailed me. Apparently, he recorded our conversation together about paying him off. He was stupid. Even in court, what would I be accused of? Fraud? I was a kid; worst I'd get two weeks’ service or something. I ignored his blackmails and then he went to the wife of my uncle, the one who killed my family, he persuaded her to testify that I was the one who killed him." Sasuke sighed and put a hand on his head. "It all was a big headache, but by a strike of fortune, when he was going to the court with the evidence he had on me, his car flipped and caught on fire. You might think I had something to do with it, but honestly… I didn't. The idiot had a broken wire; he refused to fix it until his car automatically caught fire, resulting in his ill-fated calamity."

"…And you were decriminalized of all those things?"

"I did nothing to be tried for, why would I be criminalized in the first place?"

Naruto felt the inner justice in him flare; he paused and selected his words carefully. "All those people who have died… you feel nothing?"

"Of course not," Sasuke replied nonchalantly. "I'm not a monster. I feel their pain, but most of them deserved it."

"You honestly believe that?"

"Yes, I do."

His blood seeped out of his fingers to his heart that swelled with ache. The chef felt as if he was in the presence of a different being, someone who was totally different from the Sasuke he fed and cared for. This person... he had no compassion or thoughts of guilt about what had happened… Naruto felt torn about it all.

"…Why did you tell me this? That night, you'd only given me points, you hid all truth…why not keep hiding it?"

Sasuke's eyes looked directly into his as he revealed his realization. "Because Naruto you started digging. You wanted to expose –"

"Would you shut up about that already?!" All the frustration and the repressed emotions he had exploded, Naruto stood up, defending himself. "I didn't ask Neji to run a background check on you, he did it all on his own, and God knows I didn't want to know anything you didn't want to tell me! I was against him telling me a thing, but he took it upon himself to inform me that you, Sasuke, are a bad person! You know what I said? I said I didn't believe him! Even when he presented solid evidence, I didn't believe him! Sasuke. . .I didn't, so stop saying that I dug dirt about you like… like…" his voice broke and Naruto felt his emotions block his throat. "Like some lowlife criminal out to get you…"

Fisting his tan hands, he wanted nothing more than to slam them on Sasuke's face and keep on pounding in him the truth. The truth the raven haired male either couldn't see or didn't want to see. Looking at Sasuke straight in the eyes, Naruto finalized his speech.

"It hurts when you think of me that way… Sasuke."

The Uchiha gave Naruto a look of uncertainty. Naruto hated how he couldn't communicate his wishes to Sasuke, but before he could speak more, the black eyed male clapped. His azure orbs widened at the odd reaction and, yet again, Sasuke gave him another shock that left him speechless.

"What an amazing performance, Uzumaki Naruto! Truly magnificent! You know, you should quit being a chef and become an actor, you would rival any~! I almost believed you there." Sasuke twirled around himself and gave a bow. "The play has come to an end. The secrets have all been unlocked. I know who you are now and I know what you did. You can no longer deceive me, _you liar_."

By now, Naruto was nothing short of a punching bag, Sasuke's words were the punches. Every letter pushed a hard fist upon a part of his heart. He allowed his soul safe passage away to prevent it from breaking like his heart. Lifting his heavy tongue, the blond couldn't forgive himself if he didn't try to at least make Sasuke believe him.

"You think all this was a lie? The time we lived together, our deal, the feelings –"

"That's why I say you're a great actor." With a horrific merry tone, Sasuke was talking while smiling. "I have no idea how I didn't see all this coming. The strange deal should have been my first clue, but I was too enchanted to see. You made me blind with your witty character and perseverance. For a moment there I thought you'd actually cared for me and wanted nothing more than to heal me. How idiotic, right? Laugh at the Uchiha who couldn't figure out he was being played."

"… Sasuke, I don't even know what you're saying anymore."

"Please stop acting. Thinking rationally about all this, your aim was to earn my trust and then what? Did you and the Hyuuga think you could expose me and get money? Or did you want to blackmail me? Or have me grow accustomed to you and get some money, eh? Which was it?" Sasuke's eyes grew wider as his cool facade has started cracking already. "Ha! Tell me, Naruto! Tell me! What price did he pay you!? Was this charade done from the beginning!? Were my subordinates, the ones who had recommended your restaurant, enrolled on their parts, as well? Was I the only fool here!?"

"YES! YES! YOU'RE A FOOL!" Feeling wretched to the bone, Naruto shouted out of top of his lungs. "To think all this nonsense! To actually believe for a second that I'd stoop so low as to take advantage of you! Sasuke, you _lived_ with me! You _know_ me! You –"

"Do I really? I know what you wanted me to see, but there's no telling about what's in your heart. How do you expect me to trust your words when I have no idea what you're feeling?"

Naruto felt taken aback by the question, but he was in an awkward situation. He couldn't open his mouth and tell Sasuke about his true feelings; the raven haired male wouldn't believe him. He would think he was simply making ridiculous excuses. Especially when they were in this situation, with doubts finding their way between them.

"Sasuke, you can't see into my heart, but you have to know I mean you no harm. I really wanted – no, I still want to – help you, I can't imagine –"

"That I would catch you so soon?"

His words were falling on deaf ears and tired, he sighed. "I didn't play you, Sasuke – that's the truth! I don't know what's going on between you and Neji but for God's sakes, I have nothing to do with it! What do you want me to do to make you believe me!? "

Sasuke ran a hand through the armchair and shook his head. "There's nothing for me to believe. Your time of fooling me has ended."

"Sasuke… you should at least give me the benefit of the doubt. You can't deny everything we lived based on hallucinations. I don't even know how to lie! I'm a bad liar! It shows straight on my face! Do you think someone like me could continue living a lie for ages with you?" Naruto stretched his hands, trying to make a point. "I can't. If you don't believe me, ask Sakura or any of my staff, I guarantee –"

"Your staff and your friends would of course back you up, there's no way of knowing –"

"There is!" Naruto refuted stubbornly. "As _yourself_! Ask your _heart_! Have you ever felt that I was lying to you? Was there a moment where the idea of me playing a prank or wanting to blackmail you even pop up in your head? Was there?!"

Making his way towards Naruto, the black eyed male came face to face with the chef. Looking at the blond who was using every fiber of his being trying to acquit himself, made something inside Sasuke's heart shift. His heart was telling him that those eyes were telling the truth, that those weren't the eyes of a betrayer, they were the eyes of someone caring for him and disbelieving he was in such a position. Sasuke reached his right hand and moved stray locks away from Naruto's ear, he could feel the chef tensing up with his touch and the odd feeling he always associated with Naruto, flared up.

Sasuke shifted his position and leaned forward. Closing his eyes, Naruto prepared himself for the kiss, which came so tenderly and affectionately, no one would believe Sasuke was doubting him. The blond felt pain when their lips parted, his heart cried aloud as his body warmed with the old, familiar touch. He felt his lips twitch towards a smile, but…

"My heart is shouting at me to believe you, but the last time I allowed my heart leverage on me, I was almost killed…" The handsome male whispered out. "I've followed my heart long enough and now it's time for my brain to work, and guess what my brain is telling me –"

Naruto closed his eyes and allowed himself the last time to sense Sasuke. "–Is that I'm lying."

"Bingo."

The last thing the chef felt that evening was a warm kiss that was given to his cheek and the smell of Sasuke's cologne as he left him alone in the big, dark villa. He had no ride to drive, so as he waited alone in the dark for Neji to pick him up, Naruto contemplated the reason why even though his heart was broken to tiny shards, he could still breathe and think clearly.

It made him feel completely blank.

* * *

**Thank you for reading, I await your comments *_*.**


	7. Chapter 7

"It's the tenth dish he's messed up, Sakura-chan. Please do something."

Sakura spared a glance at Naruto's sighing figure and exhaled. The chef had been out of sorts the past few weeks. She didn't know what was wrong with him or what had happened to spur on such a condition, but it was clear that his brain was elsewhere. Looking back at the cook, Chōji, Sakura commented with a troubled smile:

"It's alright, Chōji. Naruto's going through something right now so just double check everything after him. We'll have to put up with it until we find a solution."

The chubby male frowned. "I've been doing that, but he needs to get back on the saddle. I'm not telling you to talk to him simply because of work – I'm also worried. Naruto's our positive energy; he's the soul of this place, that's why we need him back. Staying like this is not good… for him and for us."

A gentle smile came over Sakura's face and she glowed. "I understand. I'll talk to him."

"Thanks, that's all I'm asking."

The chef left Sakura and returned to the kitchen. The waitress scratched her head. She had no idea how to approach this situation. Talking to Naruto might be the correct method, but the blond was clearly in the _'stay away, I don't want to talk about it_ ' phase, not to mention that Neji still hadn't filled her in on what was going on. She sighed again. Everything was going wrong and she had no way of knowing how to act.

"…Maybe I should just wait until he phases out of all this."

She whispered to herself, shaking her head vigorously in the next moment. Naruto was her best friend and, like it or not, he needed help – needed to talk about what was bothering him. Her philosophy in life was to always keep a clear heart, the best way for that to happen was by talking. Decision made, she mustered up her courage and walked the short distance separating her from the chef.

"Naruto," She called softly; his eyes never moved from their spot on the wall. Sakura watched him sigh and ignore her presence. Keeping the self that told her to just walk out and leave him in check, the waitress tried calling once more, a bit louder. "Naruto, hey, I'm calling you."

This time she caught his attention. Forcing a smile that hurt her to see, the blond greeted. "Sakura-chan, sorry, I didn't hear you there. Did you need something?"

Sakura looked at him carefully, before she spoke with a gentle tone. "I just wanted to see if you are free tonight."

"I am, but what for?"

Leaning on the frame of the door, the beautiful waitress explained: "It's been a while since we went out, so I thought we could do something fun tonight."

A sad expression came over his face for a second, but it was gone before she could decipher it. The chef nodded, figuring that an outing with Sakura wouldn't be the worst decision to make. So far, all his days were filled with senseless thinking and he needed a break from the burden on his broken heart.

"Sure thing, are you inviting someone else or it would just be us alone?"

"Just the two of us. Is that a problem?"

Naruto shook his head and answered: "Not at all. I can come pick you up at nine, how does that sound?"

"Fantastic," She grinned. "It's a date, Uzumaki Naruto."

"It's a date."

"Well then, I better go – my shift has yet to finish."

The blond waved back as he watched her leave. Sakura allowed the fake cheerfulness she was met with to pass, and concentrated on finishing her work. After all, whatever was bothering Naruto, she would make sure to find out and help abolish. Naruto wasn’t going to continue to be so lifeless for much longer.

* * *

The night air was refreshing and the quiet surrounding them was nothing short of heavenly. It possessed a sense of comfort and security. While Sakura chose to chase after a fallen star with her eyes, Naruto felt some of the pains in his soul evaporate with the stillness of the night. He liked their current location; it was a place that always made him feel safe. Nonetheless, although he appreciated it, the chef failed to see why his best friend thought to bring them there. Fondly looking at the skies above and the town below, Naruto questioned:

"Sakura-chan, why are we here?"

Sakura's eyes left the star she was tracing and turned to look at him. "Because you love this place, Naruto. Every time something bad happens in your life, you come here to relax. No one knows about this place besides me, I'm the only one who finds you when you run here to hide. It was my honor that you shared this place with me. That's why I wanted to have this conversation here, in a place that has wonderful memories for the both of us."

His eyes grew soft at her words. Naruto felt his lips force a question, which his heart already knew the answer to. "What conversation?"

The pink haired girl looked at the ground, before steeling herself again and locking her gaze with his. "What happened between you two, Naruto? Between you and Sasuke-san?"

A sad expression was her answer as the chef sat on the hard ground. The location Sakura was talking about was the rooftop of their high school building. They'd had an escalated system that consisted of a primary, intermediate and secondary school. The rooftop had always brought him smiles; it was like his little energy source. Looking back, he realized that it had been a while since he last came to vent or recharge. Maybe that was one of the reasons his body felt so heavy.

His azure eyes looked away from the ground, and to the jade ones of his friend. There he found genuine worry and trust. He knew that whatever he told Sakura, she'd whole heartedly believe it, even if he were to lie and evade telling her about what went down between them. But he didn't want to do that. He felt too alone with his worries; perhaps sharing some of the burden with her might show him a different path. Because, so far, he'd exerted every method he knew of and it was all to no avail.

It was nearing the third week since his last conversation with Sasuke. He's used all means of communication, but Sasuke had made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing to do with him or his friend, Neji. Naruto had called, texted, visited numerous times and even stalked one of Sasuke's CEOs into an appointment with the raven haired businessman, but it was all in vein.

When a sigh for the umpteenth time that day was about to come out of Naruto's mouth, Sakura's hands clamped onto his lips. Startled at her sudden behavior, the blond tilted his head, demanding an explanation.

"Enough sighing, Naruto. Please, instead of bottling it all up inside, just tell me and let's work it all out together." she was pleading. "Just like we always do, allow me to help you… please, it hurts me to see you like this and do nothing about it."

His eyes grew gentler at her pleads and he gave in. Sakura removed her hands upon his nod of agreement, she sat in front of him; keenly keeping her sight and full attention on him. The green eyed girl waited for the events to be told to her.

The blond opened his heart and, although he thought it would be hard to narrate, everything came out so smoothly that it felt a bit strange. He didn't know how much he was keeping inside until Sakura was attentively listening to him; she didn't interrupt and gave the ear that he needed. Naruto recalled the horrible events surrounding Sasuke's life, he told Sakura everything that Neji had said and spoke about his feelings and how he'd come to know everything. He also didn't fail to mention Sasuke's point of view about the circumstances. Concluding his story with the hideous fallout that made their current situation. He told her everything from A to Z, Sakura didn't interrupt until she was sure he was done.

"Naruto, let me first say this," she used the kindest tone she had and placed her hands on top of his. "I'm so, so, so sorry that you had to go through all that alone; it must have been very hard on you."

He smiled at her apology. "…It still is."

"My next words might seem a bit heartless and it may be pushing things too far, but Naruto, I still believe they are what you need to do now." she took a deep breath, then continued. "You need to clear things with him. Right now he still believes you and Neji are out to get him – this speaks about the troubled past he had. He can't trust easily. But he trusted you; however, when Neji started digging up information, he made everything worse for you. I know it might be hard and there's a big chance he will not listen, but you can't back out now. Naruto, I'm not saying this because I want you to get together with him, but because I know how hard it is to part due to misunderstandings. Clear everything and tell him about your feelings. Until now you didn't take a chance and haven't confessed, I know he'd probably think you're making all this up, but you've got to try –"

"I tried, Sakura.” He interrupted her speech. “I told you, I called and visited his house many times, but I was always turned away. Even when I went to his office –"

"Still, you shouldn't stop. Follow him, stalk him if it needs to happen, but never, ever give up on something you want due to misgivings."

Her words were true to some point, but Naruto was still reluctant. His face spoke about how he was close to giving up. Sakura bit her lips, Naruto’s personality was relentless. It meant that for him to actually start thinking about giving up, Sasuke must have shunned him out completely. If she was in her right mind, she should ask him to quit. This was a hopeless situation. Sasuke was being too selfish. He should put some faith in Naruto, why did he run to bad conclusions and believe them? Sakura sighed and tried to stay impartial. She shouldn’t judge someone like that. Maybe the raven haired male had too many demons clouding his eyes, that he failed to see the awesomeness of her friend. Yes, getting her thoughts in order, Sakura set to do what she should. As Naruto’s best friend, her duty was to light the dimming fire in his heart.

Even if Sasuke ended up cutting all ties with her friend, at least, Naruto will live on knowing he did everything he could.

“Then give up on him, Naruto.” She started with some reverse psychology. “You just ‘like’ him, you are not too deep into this romance. This is someone who threw everything you experienced together because of unreal assumptions. Why are you so hung up on him? You deserve better. You should be with someone who loves you, who trusts you and won’t put you through unnecessary torture, Naruto. Don’t sell yourself short, there are some things best left, don’t run after someone who discards you like this.”

The blond heard her. Her words were truth, yet… he just couldn’t stop himself from agonizing. As if he could see the weak side of Sasuke calling him. He should give up, but he just couldn’t.

“I… I don’t know what to do anymore, Sakura-chan…”

The pink haired girl smiled, she put a hand on top of his and said. “Yes, you do. You don’t really want to give up on him. I can see this clearly in your eyes, that’s why, Naruto, try again. One last time, do your best to talk to him. If after that he refuses, then give it up, it would be a hopeless attachment.”

Something inside of him lit up with her words, but his reluctance continued to gnaw at him. "I want to… but what if he hates me? I… I have passed the stage of like, I’m in love with him. That’s why the mere idea is nailing me to the ground. I can live with him shunning me out because of this, but I can't if he rejected me because he doesn't want me. I'm weak, Sakura."

"No, you're not." She shook her head. "You're strong, Naruto. You're someone who doesn't give up on the impossible and you would never shame away from reality. Even if he broke your heart, you will find another way to live… I believe in you!"

The waitress tightened her grip on him and beamed. Naruto was about to sigh and give up when he remembered Sakura's previous actions, so he settled on an appealing smile. Nodding to all her words, he regained part of his energy.

"You're right, Sakura-chan. I'm not the type to sit and mope about everything, I'm an action man. I have to move and see everything on my own. I have to go to Sasuke right now!"

Sweat dropping at his sudden excitement, Sakura soothed. "I'm glad you see it my way, but maybe you should wait until tomorrow; after all, it's one in the morning, I don't think he'd be up."

The blond laughed and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, having lost track of the time. "Yeah, you're right; I didn't think it was that late. I'll go to him in the morning then."

"You also can't, it's your turn to open up the restaurant." Before his face could fall, the waitress grinned cutely. "But since I'm such an awesome friend, I'll open it from you~"

His eyes gushed stars of delight at her. "Sakura… _I love you_!"

"I know."

They grinned at each other and laughed. Suddenly something popped inside the chef's head; Naruto looked at her and asked a question that puzzled him slightly.

"Sakura-chan, you dislike Sasuke and have always wanted me to stay away from him, plus now you know a little about his dark past, why do you still want me to patch things with him? I thought you'd be the one against it the most."

The girl tucked a stray lock behind her ear and stretched her hands.

"To tell you the truth, I’m _still_ against it. But I saw how much he means to you and how much of a distraction this is becoming for you. So, as your best friend, I'll give you proper advice. I don't know Sasuke-kun that well, but he makes you happy and without him you're a mess. That's why I think it's better for you two to fix it up… before you burn every dish and declare bankruptcy."

The chef smiled sheepishly at her, then noted. "Yeah… sorry about that, I'll be more careful in the future."

"Don't mind, don't mind. The important thing is that now, you know what you need to do."

Nodding, the blond grinned at his best friend. Really, he was the luckiest person alive to have this beautiful, understanding, charming girl at his side. From the deepest parts of his heart, he wished for her happiness and wellbeing. The stillness of the night surrounded them as, finally, the pink-haired girl was able to see the long lost smile on Naruto's face. Yes, life was finally back on track!

* * *

Naruto prepped himself mentally, asking his thumping heart to stop it's staccato. He organized what he needed and reminded himself not to get emotional or take anything Sasuke said to heart. The raven haired male had every right to turn out as skeptical as he had, Naruto hadn't presented as solid a case that night as he should have. He looked back at the butler standing behind him and the man nodded. Actually, when Sakura had dropped him off near his apartment building, the blond was surprised to see the old butler standing outside his front door. Apparently, he was looking for him. As soon as Naruto had seen the man, he knew something had gone wrong with Sasuke.

The man informed him that the young master was currently on the verge of unconsciousness and oblivion, that everything in him was deteriorating and that his stomach was disagreeing with food. Sasuke had reached a point where he needed to be injected with IVs in order to survive. Naruto wanted to run to him in that instant, but Sakura's previous advice came to him. He requested the old butler to wait as he quickly whipped something up in the kitchen.

Currently, they were standing outside Sasuke's hospital suite. The blond clutched the hot soup in his hands as a déjà vu of the night Sasuke was sick visualized before him. Gulping, Naruto turned the knob and stepped into the room. What met him was a sight that made his shattered heart tighten.

Sasuke was splayed on the white bed with an IV drip line hooked into his right arm. He had some documents on the nightstand and his face was hidden behind a file. The businessman hadn't noticed him yet – probably too engrossed in his work – so Naruto had to clear his throat to catch his attention. Not a minute later, piercing cold eyes looked at him from behind black framed glasses.

"What are you doing here?"

The chef flinched at the cold tone but answered softly nonetheless. "I heard you weren't eating so I brought you some soup."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm done taking anything from you."

Naruto stilled his emotions and recited what he'd rehearsed. "Sasuke, listen. Right now don't think of this food as something done by me; consider it an ordered take-out, just some random restaurant's food and eat it –"

"I don't need anything from you." The raven haired male interrupted, not wishing to hear anymore of Naruto's nonsense.

"I told you, don't think of it as something related to me–"

"I heard your point so stop repeating it. It's stupid; I already know it's from you and I want nothing from you. Just get out already. My eyes hurt simply by looking at you."

The blond walked the short distance between them, he put the food on unoccupied nightstand. Before Sasuke could complain or ask him to leave again, he took off the lid and allowed the soup's aroma to fill the room. Visibly, he was able to see the effects his soup had on Sasuke's stubbornness; he knew the raven haired male only needed a small push. With a tone that drew the businessman in, Naruto spoke.

"Tomato soup with tofu. It has all your favorite seasonings. Plus, the temperature is as warm as you like it."

Sasuke looked from the tempting dish to the blond, his stomach growled audibly. Feeling slightly embarrassed at the loud noise, he figured that refusing would only make him look sillier. So, he gave in.

"…Fine. I don't agree to this and I don't like it, but since you already brought it, it's a waste to throw it away."

The chef tried to keep his mouth from grinning, but a smile managed to break free. He hadn't thought Sasuke would actually agree so easily – all the speeches he'd prepared to persuade the male were useless now. It proved to him how tired the man holding his heart was.

"That's all I'm asking."

Five minutes later, Sasuke was already taking his full as Naruto settled on the nearby chair in the room. Looking around him and seeing nothing but white, the chef grimaced. He was never one for hospitals, it always reminded him that people were hurting and dying every day. His father had spent his last days in a hospital. Worst of all, hospitals lacked the colors that made him feel alive.

A clicking sound was heard as Sasuke put the empty bowl on the nightstand. Naruto nodded his thanks that everything was eaten.

"Are you okay now, Sasuke?"

"What do you see?"

 _'So we aren't yet in a place where I could causally work my way through_ things', that thought came to the blond's mind. He sighed inwardly and tried to clear the huge misunderstanding between them.

"Sasuke, I want to tell you a story, would you listen?"

"My previous words stand firm; I don't want to hear or see anything that has to do with you. I just want you out of my life for good." The emotionless reply was like a knife to his heart.

Naruto smiled and tried another trick. "I promise; this will be the last you hear of me. I just want to tell you something, consider it payment for the food you just ate."

Folding his arms above his chest, the raven haired male believed it better to just up and end everything; however, since Naruto was so hardheaded – judging by his miraculous way of not giving up until now – he believed it was in his best interest to hear him out. Glaring, he sent daggers at his former chef.

"Fine, say what you need to say. Quickly!"

Naruto took a deep breath and started off nostalgically. "I met Hyuuga Neji when I was a freshman in culinary school. At that time, I was still going over everything in my life. My father had just died and his restaurant was taken from us because we couldn't pay rent. I was still new to the whole organized cooking methods and my life was still in its beginning. Neji was the most popular cook in school. He was even called a prodigy. There was no dish he was told to make that he didn't excel at. Well, except for one dish: ramen. You'd think the master of all could whip himself a beautiful, balanced ramen, but he couldn't. It was something he'd ignore and, frustrated, leave it alone. Then I arrived, and the only thing I could do perfectly back then was ramen. Our paths crossed and, although we disliked each other at first, it didn't take long before we became the best friends –"

"I don't see why I should listen to your love story with the Hyuuga –" Sasuke's tone of anger was very clear to his ears, interrupting his nostalgia.

The blond didn't take gently to being interrupted and cut off Sasuke harshly. "When you were telling your stories that night, I listened without interrupting. Please provide the same courtesy."

Hmphing like a little child, the raven haired male held his tongue. The chef smiled and continued where'd left off.

"Like I was saying, we became close. After that some troubles happened in my third year and I was kicked out. The one who'd helped me back on my feet again was Neji. He also provided me with a place where I could earn experience and learn my craft. Neji was the first person to help me get my shop and believe I'd succeed in everything. Even when the days were bleak and I thought I should just give up on everything, he and Sakura were the ones cheering me on." A heavenly smile came over his face as he spoke about his friends. "Sasuke, what I'm trying to say is that, yes I know Neji and yes, Neji has gone behind my back to dig through your past, but he only did that for me. He has no ill-intentions towards you and God knows he doesn't care enough to hand you over to the cops or try to blackmail you. He just wanted me to know who I was dealing with. My friends know of the hard past I have had, they know how hard it was for me to become who I am today. That's why they'd do anything in their power to protect me. In Neji's sight, digging into your past and showing it to me was that protection."

With that, the chef was done. There was a moment in which something shifted in the atmosphere of the room. The blond didn't know what it was, but he could feel the chills and shivers running down his spine. Feeling confused enough to dare look Sasuke in the eyes, he was astonished at the facial expression controlling the other's features. Sasuke's face was drawn to a sad and pained mien. His brows were furrowed and his mouth drawn in a straight line. His pale hands were clutching at the sheets with so much force, the veins were popping underneath.

The minute those dark orbs looked his way, he felt as if he'd just said the worst verse of his life. The handsome Uchiha kept his silence; he didn't comment on anything Naruto had said and simply continued looking, as if wishing that the chef would change his arguments or, at least, ponder a bit deeper. Naruto's brain, however, failed to see the signals being sent his way and thought the silence was rejection to everything he alleged as truth.

Sasuke finally stopping looking at him and his whole being released an air of disappointment. The setting still didn't make any sense to the chef, but before he could aspire to any resolve, Sasuke gave him the words that cut thought everything he had uttered.

"Go home, Naruto. Just go home."

Unable to believe what his ears were hearing, the chef tried again, ignoring the way his heart was thumping loudly that there was something missing. "Sasuke, please, believe me, it's the truth. I never meant any harm to you; I really had nothing to do with it!"

"No," the businessman cleared his throat, he focused his eyes back to his former chef. "Naruto, I can't do this anymore… you're too blind to see."

Blinking at the foreign words that didn't match their conversation, Naruto questioned. "What do you mean? Blind to what?"

Sasuke fell into a moment of silence, taking off his glasses; he closed his eyes to lay back on the bed. His bangs fell beside him on each side, Naruto could see the destruction the inability to eat had caused Sasuke's body. His eyes were sunken, his cheekbones were highlighted more than usual and his fair skin, the skin that would always glow without any hint of humanity, was such a deathly pale that it made him cringe. Sasuke was probably more tired than he was letting on… the blond felt a sense of guilt.

Since they parted, he shouldn't have given up on making food for Sasuke. The raven haired male had truly said he wanted nothing to do with him, but that didn't mean he wanted nothing to do with his food. He's taken upon his shoulders the task of bringing Sasuke to full health. Along the way, he'd gotten too distracted with his feelings.

His head told him to reach out and touch the male, but he was too afraid of being slapped away.

"Naruto, what do you think of me?"

Sasuke's voice came as a whisper; it was so soft that if the room wasn't so quiet, the blond would never have heard it. The question didn't shock Naruto, as it was one he'd asked himself time and time before. What did he think of Sasuke? What did the raven haired businessman mean to him? The answer was simpler than perfecting a barbecue.

With every cell in his body agreeing, Naruto replied. "You're an existence that could and would never be changed within me."

Sasuke opened his eyes and looked sideways at the blond; his face was drained of all emotions. "Do you love me, Naruto?"

It took a while for the blue eyed chef to make peace with himself, but when he did, he lit up. "Yes, I do."

"What type of love?"

"The type that makes me want to be with you until the last day of my life."

"So you're _in_ love with me?" Sasuke inquired again, his eyes still void of any sort of sentiments.

"Yes."

"The person whom had committed crimes in his past, awful ones? Even after knowing all those things, you're still sure you're one hundred percent in love with me?"

The justice-driven self he had showed objected at the question. The blond was indeed in love with Sasuke, but he still didn't open the lid of what he had been told. He was too preoccupied with making Sasuke talk to him again; he had forgotten about the list of murders associated with the Uchiha. He hadn't even tried to authenticate them. And yet, being indecisive would put him nowhere. He was someone who believed in second chances. If, in worst case scenario, Sasuke was really the one who'd killed all those people, he'd stay with him, through thick and thin.

"I don't approve of your past actions and I can't guarantee that I won't try to persuade you to give yourself up to the police, but I'd still love you and be there for you."

A small smile came over Sasuke's face at those words and he spoke gently. "I thank you, Naruto, for everything you've done for me and for your true feelings. You're a gem I've stumbled upon without intending to. Maybe if we were in different situations or different lives, we might actually work out as a couple. Being with you was the best. You brought out everything I thought I'd forgotten. I learnt how to live with you, but I can't do this anymore… I can't be with you anymore, Naruto."

The blond felt his heart break for the second time at the flat rejection and he couldn't bow out without a proper justification.

"Is it because I'm a guy you're refusing? Because it's disgusting –"

"We've done stuff together long enough; you should know that's not even a reason." Sasuke interrupted lightly.

"Then why? Why can't we be together? You can't tell me that you don't love me. I may be slow on a lot of things, and your mixed signals have had me confused for a long time, but I know love when I see it!" The chef exclaimed, his feelings already gushing out. "You love me the same way I love you! Everything in you is screaming loudly about it! Why then? Why do you want to separate us?"

"Because I can't trust you anymore."

The answer was given to him in bold letters. Azure orbs widened with disbelieve.

"What?"

"Indeed, my heart is very close to yours," Sasuke talked in a calm tone, almost as if he was rubbing medicine on Naruto's exposed heart. "It was a simple infatuation at first but it slowly formed into genuine love. However, that doesn't matter. I could love you to death, but if I can't trust you, I can't be with you. Trust is very important to me."

"Is this because of Neji's case again?" The chef asked, "Because no matter how many times it takes, I told you, I'm prepared to swear I had –"

This time Sasuke pushed himself off the bed slightly to a sitting position, and stopped Naruto with his hand.

"I know. I know you had nothing to do with it, and I know it was all Hyuuga Neji's actions."

Naruto's cerulean eyes widened further at the new revelation, his lips could only whisper in utter shock, before being interrupted again. "Then why –?"

"Because I needed to test you, I wanted to see if you could continue to believe in me – Sasuke, the one you'd spent a lot of time with instead of rumors brought to you by a friend. I needed to know what your reaction would be if a day came and something bad happened. If you found out all you've been living with me was a lie and the truth is something hideous, would you be there and believe me or would you go and blame me? I wanted you to see it in me, to see how much I was trying and screaming for you to ask me and talk to me, even if you'd persecuted me, it would have been better than you staying silent."

By now, Naruto's whole body shivered as everything that had happened that night was replaying inside his head. Sasuke's actions that day, getting him macaroons, treating him gently then taking him to that house and telling him all those things, exploding on him with accusations and senseless thoughts. All this time, his eyes weren't looking. He was too busy with himself that he didn't see the plea in Sasuke's words. He wanted him to listen closely and see the true him, not the accusations. But Naruto himself wasn't able to provide the same gesture. He had allowed Sasuke's façade to overwhelm his thoughts.

Yet he'd done the exact opposite. Instead of apologizing, he'd held a small suspicion that Sasuke had a hand in the death of all those people. He had pushed the blame upon his friend. As if the problem in the first place was who had told him the rumors. If he'd given it a little bit of thought, he'd know why Sasuke was that upset.

Naruto acted as if he loved the raven haired businessman, but love wasn't always about physical intimacy or lip service. It was actions and proofs; he shouldn't have had doubts and should have authenticated everything before holding a single bad thought about a person that showed him nothing but good intentions. Sasuke had been hurt many times; he was too scarred. The first night he talked about all this with him, the chef knew the amount of damage that was there. And yet, he'd discarded all that the minute Neji whispered of the awful rumors.

Even when Sasuke was telling him about how he was a part of the death of those people, he should have asked for proof. Why didn't the idea that Sasuke was testing him even float to his head? Why didn't he actually give the benefit of the doubt and enforce what he was preaching? Why did he believe that Sasuke was indeed the villain, instead of thinking of the ways the businessman might have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time?

**WHY!**

"The first family that took me in," Sasuke spoke softly, "My uncle and his wife did arrange the murder of my family. He did try to kill me again, but I dodged. When that happened, he tripped and the knife cut his artery. I tried to stop the bleeding and called the ambulance to come, but it was raining that night and they'd a case of a flat tire. By the time help came along, he'd died in my hands. The second family that took me – aunty was sweet to me. I liked her a lot; even when she asked for money, I had no problem giving it. My father's attorney suspected she was embezzling money, something I didn't think mattered really, I had a lot and she just took a little. When she saw he was suspecting her, she believed I was the one who'd told him so she got angry. I know she didn't mean to strangle me. She just had a short temper; unfortunately, she was too angry that day and the window was open. As her hands tightened around my neck, I trashed around and kicked her away. She lost her balance and fell out the window. Again, I ran to help her but I was too late."

Naruto was feeling as if blades were being stabbed through him with each word.

"The third house I went to, it was humble. The lady of the mansion loved parties. Her friends were from the wealthy community; she gave me a small room in one of the attics because she didn't want people to see she had a child. She loved beautiful things, jewelry and make-up. Her parties had a dangerous side though. When they all got together, they'd drink, have orgies and do drugs. There was a time when she was short on servants so she asked me to help; I had nothing to do so I did. One of the old guys over there liked me. He asked her to give me for an amount of money. She refused, so he planned to abduct me. He chose the night where they'd indulge in pleasures and gave a very strong drug to the crowd. In the end, she saw through everything and, as she was helping me, he stabbed her. Then one of the guys who loved her stabbed him, then one of his boys stabbed that guy," Sasuke's eyes closed as he recalled the horrific scene. "At the end, it turned into a massacre. All because of me."

Naruto found his voice etching at his throat and started off huskily. "Sasuke, it wasn't your –"

" _The_ fourth house I was taken to," the blond kept his mouth shut after Sasuke's clear interruption. "Those old couple, I loved them so much. They reminded me of the grandparents I've never met. It was a short time I spent with them, but it was very dear to me. Unfortunately, I bring disaster everywhere I go, so grandma died the first month around. Grandpa was depressed after it for a while, but just when I thought he'd gotten better, I come home to find that he'd overdosed and, as always, I was helplessly watching yet another life slip right through my hands."

Biting his lips from breaking out and saying everything that he wanted to say, Naruto sat silently listening, letting his misjudgment burn coolly inside of him.

"I'd had finally gotten sick of people beside me dying so I bought me a guardian. He understood everything I went through. His name was Hatake Kakashi. He wasn't technically an Uchiha, he married into our family, but his wife had died and he took on her name. He was like the big brother I'd lost. He vouched for me in court and asked to be in charge of everything I needed. We spent some good years together, before his fate came and his car caught fire. I was very sad afterwards and I was determined not to let anyone get close to me or in my heart anymore," Sasuke eyes twinkled a little after that. "But you entered, Naruto, through everything in me, you waltzed in and made yourself comfortable. My heart loved you and I reached a stage where having you was the norm. I loved your food, I loved your energy and your enthusiasm about the restaurant and most of all, I loved you, Naruto. But –"

"Since you can't trust me anymore, your love for me has died? Is that what you want to say?" Naruto's tone was filled remorse and sadness. He felt so horrible inside that it was too much for him. Sasuke was right to detest him and to worry that in the future something like this might happen.

"…I still have feelings for you, Naruto, that I won't deny, but they're decreasing. I hold trust above everything else… it's my foundation. I can't be around someone I can't trust."

"Then give me a chance to get it back!" Naruto left his chair and was beside his love in seconds, pouring his heart out. "What you did, Sasuke – even though I understand where you're coming from – was a low blow. You shouldn't expect perfection from me. I'm a human and I do make mistakes. I shouldn't have done a lot of stuff from that night and I shouldn't have left you without food even if it killed me, but these are my mistakes and I hold all blame. I get how it makes you feel. I left you all alone and didn't believe in you like I said I would. I failed you in so many ways and didn't trust you enough to tell you what Neji had said clearly. I understand all my failures. However, Sasuke, I still want you to trust me again. I want you to take another blind gamble on me. I love you with all your imperfections and I want the part of you, which still loves me, to trust me again –!"

"Naruto," Sasuke interjected uncertainly. "I’m too tired, I can't anymore –"

"No, you can! Sasuke, staying away from you was the worst thing! I couldn't concentrate on anything. The food that I love so much was dull and business was a bore! Do you understand what I'm saying?!" Naruto cried, hands flying everywhere. " _Cooking_! My profession! The love of my life! It all dimmed down compared to you! Sasuke, do you get how huge it is having you in my life!? I _need_ you to live, I _need_ you to breathe! You're my everything! Please, please, believe in me again! One more chance! I'm begging you, don't break my heart again!"

Sasuke's face was painfully contorted with the force of his emotions. The contradiction within him was obvious; his head was fighting his heart. He wanted to listen to Naruto but was too afraid to be hurt again. He couldn't stomach bearing his soul only to have it torn apart by doubt. He'd lived a life of isolation, was breathing heavily day in and day out and thought his only way out was death. He longed for that, but since he made a silent promise with his descend brother to see this life that was given to him to the end, he couldn't commit suicide. He was a corpse amongst the living. No one dared get close to him in fear of their lives. The only one who had cared, Hinata, was too sick to be there for him.

Naruto… his eyes squeezed shut as the blond pulled him into a hug. He'd gotten used to these arms – these arms that made him feel safe. No matter the hard tasks he was faced with, meeting Naruto at the end of each day made everything worth it. It wasn't a coincidence that his stomach only tolerated Naruto's food, it was because he was the only one who looked at him properly. The only one who looked at the lonely Sasuke surrounded by misunderstandings, a hideous past and came close. He accepted and treated him like a normal person.

Sasuke was so scared that Naruto's ears would catch the rumors and his only escape would be taken away. That day when he was sick and Naruto went to bring them breakfast, when he'd opened the door and saw the Hyuuga, he knew his life was going to change. From that day on, he was on his toes. Naruto acted like there was nothing wrong, but he was a different case. Sasuke's insides were always waiting for the blond to come and judge him, just like everyone else. He wished for Naruto to question him and see reality. But that never happened. Naruto was keeping them at status quo, and he couldn't take it anymore.

That's when he told the blond everything about him. He gave the events but was too afraid to go into details, presuming Naruto would think the worst of him, or worse, drive him away and abandon him. He was too awkward and tried to be as brave as he could. Sasuke didn't want to lose his _'sun'_ , not after seeing that light; it was hard to return to the darkness once more. But then news about Hyuuga Neji digging into the details of his life had reached his ears.

His worst fears had come true. He'd run to Naruto's house that night, refusing to pick up the many calls coming his way from the chef, until he reached him and was facing him straight on. Then Naruto had stayed silent. He acted as if his ears had heard nothing, as if Neji didn't inform him of anything – as if he wasn't only two hours ago calling Sasuke's number like his life depended on it.

That's when he'd constructed it all. He thought to tell the tale everyone else was telling. To be the villain everyone else was making him to be. He wanted, hoped, wished and believed that Naruto would refute everything and tell him that he didn't believe him, that the Sasuke from a couple hours ago, eating macaroons and flirting with him could never kill another human with cold hands. Yet, his hopes came crashing down hard on him. With every justification the chef was making, Sasuke's heart was breaking alongside the soul he was holding.

Naruto didn't even have a minute to think he was lying about this, he didn't even think Sasuke was framed; he put the bad possibilities first and built on them. The kiss he shared with Naruto that night was filled with all his emotions. He was crying out loud for him to understand, to see the truth, but Uzumaki Naruto didn't. Sasuke had lost the one he felt alive with that rainy night. When he left the villa, everything in him was dead.

Food wasn't even fascinating anymore. Eating became harder than it used to be and Naruto's constant calls and visits to justify that he wasn't playing him, were hurting him even more. He was tired of life. Tired of the bad fate that had befallen him. What did he do to deserve all this? Couldn't he enjoy a normal life like everyone else? As he laid on his bed one night, he contemplated the reason why he was still alive. His heart was gone, his stomach didn't want to receive anything and he was barely breathing. Why hadn't he died yet?

Sasuke came back to the arms holding him tight and silent tears rolled down his cheeks. How long was it since he'd last cried? The day his family had perished was the first and last time; that night, he'd vowed to be a man who didn't need to cry again. Yet here he was, in the arms of the man who took him to heaven and brought him to hell, crying his eyes out as the sorrow inside broke free.

Naruto felt tears drenching him from the back and held tighter. His own eyes were mimicking Sasuke's. He was crying for everything he'd heard. Sasuke was probably the person who needed happiness the most. If he recalled their days together, the raven haired male had always come when he said he would, had always eaten whether he liked the food or not, had always given his all to whatever he was asked to do. Why couldn't he see that someone like that could and would never hurt another? Why did he allow rumors to cloud his eyes? Naruto cried for the him that had failed Sasuke – for the him that had hurt the man he loved the deepest.

"Sasuke, I'm so very sorry. I know it'd take a long time, but I'm here now, I won't leave you… I beg you, don't push us a part, I can't live without you…"

At this, he felt Sasuke's arms circle around his back. The blond didn't allow his feelings to soar because the businessman didn't agree verbally. All the same, he took the action as a sign that he could get closer if he wished to. Naruto climbed into the bed and started rocking them back and forth. They remained in that position for a while. Finally, the chef felt the weight of Sasuke shift towards him, he leaned backwards a little and two closed orbs met his.

He was about to freak out and call on the nurses – thinking Sasuke had passed out – but then the raven haired male started snoring. A relived smile crossed Naruto's face and he leaned Sasuke back on the bed. Fixing his love's hair, Naruto realized how much it killed him to see the trails of those tears. His eyes were still leaking and he wiped them.

He had to be the rock that supported Sasuke now. He needed to close the cleft that had formed between them. Crying and wallowing in self-pity had never helped anyone. He had to find his strength. Shuffling out of bed, Naruto gave a tender kiss to Sasuke's lips. They were cold and a little chapped, but he felt butterflies dance inside his stomach all the same.

Giving the love of his life another look, the chef was out of the white room, his resolve to bring Sasuke's trust back to him strong in his heart.

* * *

Sakura put her hands on her hips and scowled. Her cute outfit of jeans shorts with a mauve tank top, highlighted by her pink bra straps, hugged her fit body as she resumed a position of dissatisfaction. She shook her head, making her shoulder length ponytails sway with the action, before she voiced her opinion, as if her body language hadn't yet stressed it enough.

"I don't agree with this, Naruto. You're going too far."

"No, I'm not. In fact, this is something I should have done from the beginning."

"He won't be happy about this, you know. So if you're doing it for him –"

"I'm not," Naruto zipped his last bag and started offing the electricity of his apartment. "I'm doing it for me. I need him and it's about time to make it clear."

Sakura ruffled her hair in frustration as she chased him around the apartment. "You think you show need if you abandon everything and go to him? That's just desperation."

"Well, I'm desperate." He grinned at her, which fueled her irritation more.

"Then how about you simply go for a week? You can't leave the restaurant infinitely!"

"And I won't, I'll be coming every weekend to check on everything. I talked to Neji so he would send someone to cover the shifts for me. I already have everything planned out, Sakura," he stopped what he was doing and stood in front of his friend. Giving her eyes that shone with hope and energy, Naruto soothed. "Don't worry about me, I'm alright. My life's alright. The restaurant's all right. You did well for me. Let me, please, find my way with him. If I continue to live here and engage in my everyday routine, then there's a big chance I'll lose him… right now, I don't think there's a lot he's living for. I want to give him a reason. That's why I need to be there, twenty-four seven with him. Sakura, please, give me that chance."

He knew she could never refuse him after that, the pink haired girl loved him enough to honor his wishes. Still scowling, Sakura answered.

"Fine! But if anything comes up and I call, you'd better get your ass back to us ASAP! Hear me?"

He grinned and gave her a hug. "Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Haruno Sakura hated the way her heart felt, but she wished everything would turn out well. Helping Naruto pack the last of the things he needed in the moving truck, the girl bid him goodbye, with a promise of meeting on the weekend. She still didn't know how to endure not meeting Naruto every morning, but one had to do what one had to do. For Naruto, that was leaving everything behind and going to Sasuke's side.

Naruto waved at her until his apartment and neighborhood were nothing but blurs in the rearview mirror. Relaxing on the passenger seat, he allowed a smile to spread across his face. Finally, he was taking things in his own hands! He needed to make everything work. Right now, Sasuke would probably have all his walls back in place – the walls that he'd never felt were really up in front of him. The open gate he'd lost the key to was gone. He'd be treated like everyone else.

The chef felt a part of him dread the new change, but no matter what, he had to earn that trust back. Earn it then fill every day of the rest of Sasuke's life with happiness.

It didn't take long until he was brought to the Uchiha estate. He had arranged everything with the butler of the household. The old man was nice, he had welcomed the idea with open arms and stressed the importance of not leaving the young master by himself. The chef felt pumped at having an ally in that big house. Getting out of the truck, he called the butler so as not to make Sasuke aware that he was in the house, or even close to the premises for that matter.

Not a minute later, the butler, along with a group of maids, were by the door. They helped the blond inside and were quiet enough not to make any noise. Three minutes later had him inside one of the free rooms in the estate. Naruto was told everything he needed to know: where the bathroom was, where the kitchen was and most importantly, where Sasuke's room was. The first time he was there, he couldn't really memorize how to get to the raven haired male, but now, with a map drawn firmly in his head, he was set to go.

The maids had arranged everything for him, he had nothing more to do. So taking a deep breath, he walked towards Sasuke's room. The Japanese styled house was enchanting and in possession of an ethereal beauty. Naruto saw why Sasuke wished to remain here. His eyes softened at the thought of meeting the handsome businessman and he knocked the door.

"Who's there?"

Naruto's heart fluttered at the tone and he expressed his presence. "It's Naruto, Sasuke."

There was a long pause, in which Sasuke was probably estranged as to why the blond was within the premises of his mansion. Then the door slid open. Sasuke was back to proper health; he wasn't one hundred percent repaired, but Naruto saw a noticeable improvement. A glare was given to him, the scalpels that were sent his way were like honey on his heart.

"What are you doing here? Wait, how did you even get inside without my permission?"

Quickly, the blond jumped defending his accomplices. "They did nothing wrong, don't fire or punish any of them. I was the one who forced them to let me in. I came here because I have a goal and I won't leave without achieving it."

Sasuke raised a fine brow and commented. "What goal is that?"

"To get you to trust me again."

"You think restoring what's lost is that easy?"

The cold tone did nothing to ruffle him and Naruto beamed. "I know it'd take a while for you to believe in me like you used to – no, even then it might not be the same as before, but I still want you to. That's why I decided to move in with you."

"…" Sasuke looked at him passively, then he blinked. "Excuse me? Who's moving in with who now?"

"Me.” With a tan finger he pointed at himself, then at Sasuke “I'm moving in with you."

"In your dreams, get out of my house before I call the cops on you!"

Standing firmly without budging a muscle, the cook argued. "Go ahead, call them. It won't matter; the minute I'm set free I'll come back here. You can do it however many times you wish, and I'd still be coming. You know how hardheaded I can be."

Sasuke's glare hardened as he frowned. "Are you threatening me, Uzumaki?"

"Yes, I am. Threatening with annoyance for life. You won't get a minute of rest, so you might as well not delay the inevitable and allow me to stay here."

The Uchiha didn't like what his ears were hearing, but he couldn't deny that Naruto would most probably do what he just said. Even if he got a restraining order against him, the blond would find a way to get his wish. He himself wasn't all that fond of courts and jails anyways. Looking at the chef who brimmed with brightness, Sasuke turned around and gave his finalizing words.

"Do as you wish, but keep away from my room and anything that has to do with me. I won't tolerate any violations to that rule."

Naruto winced as the door was slammed in his face. He grinned the next minute though, knowing now that he was given permission to remain with the raven haired male in the mansion. The challenge now would be getting Sasuke to believe in him again.

* * *

**Thank you for reading, we're down to the last chapter, everyone, so stay tuned! Comments and kudos are welcomed *_***


	8. The End

Black orbs watched from a distance as Naruto made himself home. Sasuke knew how fast Naruto could adjust to new environments, but it still astonished him a bit. His vast house was never as lively as when the blond had moved in it. The maids that were bleak and silent were quick to befriend the blond. Maybe it was because Naruto was the type of person who put himself in their shoes, treating them kindly, they felt his down to earth attitude welcoming. Sasuke didn’t even compare them, he’d always kept his walls up, not allowing a servant or anyone to get close.

Anyone except for Naruto, that is.

His eyes continued watching Naruto as he chatted merrily with one maid, helping her broom. A dark feeling tugged at his heart. He recognized the feeling of jealousy all too well. It was the reason he’d demanded Naruto’s contact information that night, fearing another person would beat him to the blond, stealing the tiny place he’d secured for himself. Sasuke bit his cheek from the inside. In fact, the minute he’d realized he was in too deep, he wanted to remove Naruto from his heart. But… it wasn’t easy to do so.

Naruto was like superglue, hooking into his vessels and refusing to let go.

Sighing, the Uchiha closed the book he was supposedly reading, then drank his tea. Currently, he was sitting in the vibrant garden, a white iron table with matching chairs was placed in it. Sasuke wasn’t a fan of outdoor activities, but he liked nature. As much as he could, he would spend time enjoying it. The weather was warm, birds chirped from all around. The black eyed male sipped at his tea, the beverage’s heat allowed his nostrils a chance to enjoy its flavor. He couldn’t stomach food, but surprisingly, drinking was fine. A little air turbulence gushed to move his black locks, his vision was shielded momentarily. Sasuke considered his need of a haircut.

“Morning.”

He tried to pretend he didn’t hear the chirpy tone, ignoring the way angels seemed to dance at his heart.

“Sasuke,” The blond chef tried again, getting closer. “I said ‘ _morning’_.”

“…”

“Well since you don’t want to speak, I’d use this chance to have a one-on-one conversation with myself.”

The businessman tried to keep a stoic expression at the odd comment, yet curious he wanted to see how Naruto would play that one out. With a grin, the blue eyed chef started.

“ _’Oh, morning to you too, Naruto. How was your night_?’. Greet! thanks for asking, I slept like a baby. ‘ _Glad to hear that, want some tea?_ ’. No, thank you, I don’t drink tea in the morning. ‘ _Then sit with me, let’s chat together’_. Alright, your wish is my command.”

Naruto would change his tone of voice – to a deeper and more strong quality – every time he would speak Sasuke’s role, trying to mimic his speech. Sasuke, on the other hand, couldn’t stop rolling his eyes at the conversation that was so convenient for his love. He sipped his tea, still ignoring the human two feet to his right.

“You know, Sasuke, I like your hair like this. Long hair suits you.”

With those little words, the remark about wanting to get a haircut, died down immediately. Sasuke hated how Naruto’s words had such a powerful effect on his psych. Even if he didn’t want to, his inner self was approving to them. This was one of the reasons he wanted to keep a distance, he was afraid a day would come when satisfying Naruto was number one. Unconsciously, his eyes looked Naruto’s way, the minute they made contact with Naruto’s, Sasuke wished he hadn’t. A soft smile was on the chef’s face, making everything inside him jitter. Of course, the outside was masked perfectly.

Naruto reached a tan hand, trying to touch Sasuke’s locks, but the businessman stood up before he could reach him. Sasuke put his cup down, then started walking away to the direction of his study. Naruto felt a bit hurt by the strong rejection, but encouraged his soul not to yield. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

* * *

“ _Naruto, how is everything going with you?”_

The blond sighed and ruffled his golden hair. “Not so good, Sakura-chan, he’s still ignoring me.”

Presently, he was conversing with his best friend over the phone, sitting idly in the room that was given to him.

“ _What’s your plan then? Are you just going to allow this to be or…?”_

“For now, I want him to get used to my presence. It’s only been a week, it’s too early to make progress.”

“ _I’ve been thinking, Naruto,”_ She said, tone filed with wonder. _“But don’t you think this is strange_?”

The blond blinked at the odd words. “What’s strange?”

Sakura was quick to explain herself. “ _This whole situation. He loves you but he doesn’t trust you. Can someone actually love without trust? I mean I understand that he has trust issues, but he should at least give you a chance at a first strike. He’s exaggerating everything. I’m not trying to be a bitch here, but Sasuke… he’s too hard on you. You only did the human thing – no, in fact, you went beyond normal, you believed in him and waited_ –”

“Sakura-chan,” The chef interrupted, stopping her train of thoughts. “Sasuke’s vulnerable right now. He’s hard on me because he’s scared. Like I told you before, there’s not much he’s living for. I’m not just trying to restore our ‘ _trust’_ , I also want to give him a solid reason to continue living. He’s terrified of existing so what might sound like him being unreasonable, in his own way, he’s shielding himself. So being able to be by his side when he’s going through this stuff… it’s more than enough, I have no reason to complain.”

The pink haired girl stayed silent for a while, then her voice vibrated. “ _This only stresses my point further, Naruto. He was living just fine before he met you, why would he suddenly throw away life just because he lost trust in you? Isn’t he too weak? For someone who had lived through multiple traumas, he should be more tenacious.”_

The blond sighed, Sakura’s thinking was purely logical. She didn’t leave an ounce of emotions to cloud her judgment, her words might’ve had some truth. However, from what Naruto was able to gather, Sasuke’s psychological status wasn’t stable from the beginning. He was someone who’d survived multiple deaths, was shunned from society and was called a god of death. He was filled with deep, rooted scars. It left him hating crowds and leading a life of seclusion. Sasuke’s psych was so disoriented that eating like normal people was a task he couldn’t do.

Probably, Sasuke was protecting the little shred of humanity he’d left, thinking unconsciously that he was indeed a god of death, so to keep everyone safe, he shouldn’t allow anyone to come close.

But then Naruto did, without intending to, he’d broken all of Sasuke’s walls. For the first time in a long time, the black eyed male had experienced the warmth of another human. All the feelings that he’d forgotten, he was made to learn them again. Nevertheless, this time, he had no idea how to behave. Naruto recalled their awkward interactions, Sasuke’s weird mannerism and the way he didn’t understand simple common sense. Possibly, he had no one around to properly teach him.

From Naruto’s perspective, Sasuke had opened his heart to him and was wounded. That night when Naruto didn’t refute that he was a god of death, it must have shaken Sasuke greatly. The little piece of humanity he’d stashed away was lost. Therefore, Naruto didn’t blame him when his eyes went vacant and his walls were rebuilt. Being met with coldness was expected. Maybe others thought Sasuke was being a spoiled brat, but Naruto knew better. To him, Sasuke was clinging to life by a thread, so he treaded carefully to protect it.

Naruto had sworn to haul Sasuke from his self-loathing and get him to smile again. Choosing his words carefully, he tried to summarize his thoughts.

“Let’s say there’s a punching bag that you use, throughout the years you have been punching away until it got worn out. Then one day, you decided to fix it, you started fixing, but the damage was too great… repairing would take time and money. Someone said it’s easier to get a new one, throw the old; it’s useless. Better go with a new and better bag. You hesitated and for a minute, thought those words were right. That’s the situation we are in. Sasuke’s the punching bag, I’m the owner, Neji’s the one telling me to throw him away. I had allowed doubt into my heart, hurting him. it’s not a good example, but I hope my point got across… I don’t want to leave my punching bag, I want to fix it and make it brand new.”

“… _Naruto, you’re bad at analogies, this gibberish doesn’t even make sense! But anyways, if you’re going this far, uttering complete nonsense, I guess I’d back down,” She sighed with an annoyed tone. “However, a piece of advice, no matter how much you want to save him, you can’t give him the will to live. It’s something he needs to find by himself.”_

He cringed at her words, getting slightly embarrassed about failing to deliver his views. “I know that, I’m not forcing him or anything. I believe Sasuke has the desire in him, he’s still breathing, isn’t he? I’ll just be there when that desire dims down. I’ll show him how beautiful this world is!”

“ _Your cheerfulness astonishes me... just don’t take it too far_.” He could almost see her shaking her head.

Naruto grinned and added. “Don’t worry, all’s well, besides, he loves me… so I’m hopeful… somehow.”

The girl moaned over the line. “ _Love isn’t everything, Naruto, you know that.”_

“True, true, you know, Sakura-chan, sometimes I think that Sasuke’s fear isn’t just of living, but of me too.”

“ _You think he fears you_?”

“Hmm… not me per se, but my existence, he’s scared that it’d grow too big inside of him. Like if he were to indulge and love me more, life without me would be too hard… maybe even impossible.” He finished with a strained expression.

Sakura giggled and spoke in an amused tone. “ _Who are we talking about now_?”

Naruto laughed, mimicking her. “Yeah… I had all those thoughts not too long ago, so I understand. It’s really hard to allow someone into your heart, trusting them fully like that.”

The blond heard some ruckus on Sakura’s side, he could feel that she would hang up soon. Not a second later, her voice came to resonate. “ _Well, whatever it is, I just don’t want you to get hurt._ ”

“I know; you don’t have to worry so much, I know what I’m doing.”

Sakura hummed and chirped. “ _Fine then,_ _be safe, Naruto, I need to go now. Call me again_.”

Nodding his affirmation, the blue eyed male smiled at his premonition, then replied. “I will, take care, Sakura-chan, thank you for worrying about me.”

As he closed the line, he felt a desire to see Sasuke. Deciding to be with the businessman wasn’t an easy choice. He had his own struggles. Before he could preach to Sasuke about how they should be together, he needed to convince himself. Life as a gay couple wasn’t easy. They will face prejudice from everywhere; time would come when he might have to keep a low profile for his restaurant. Naruto knew his friends would be there for him, supporting him to no end, but a part of him was still worried. 

As he made sure steps to the library, Naruto’s brain continued thinking. Right now, he was okay with it, to accept the choice of a life with Sasuke in it. He knew he’d be shattered if Sasuke decided to shut him out and stay inside his walls. But he had faith that that won’t happen. His best quality after all was his optimism. They needed one of them to see the light at the end of the tunnel, since the other seemed to only see darkness. The blond chuckled to himself. One maid looked at him weirdly as he passed her, he simply flashed a grin and she nodded smiling. The maids in Sasuke’s house were all nice people, had his future-to-be boyfriend gave them the time of day, he’d realize that making friends wasn’t such a hard thing to do.

When he reached the library, he didn’t find the businessman. Searching a few rooms, he decided to question the butler. The elegant old man quickly guided him to Sasuke’s whereabouts. He found him cooped inside his room. Naruto looked at his watch, signaling 3:00 PM. Time for lunch was almost there. He stood outside Sasuke’s door and thought about barging it, but that would only result in him being kicked out – his memory recalled a couple of times of that happening. Merrily he skipped to the kitchen, after all, if he wanted the raven haired man’s attention, he needed a plate in hand.

Naruto hated how he was abusing the food, but any means to make him see Sasuke was welcomed.

* * *

As the lavender eyed female paid him a visit, Sasuke’s arms stretched into a hug. Since his illness, he wasn’t able to leave his house much. Most of his work was directed to him at home. He disliked all this, but his weak body allowed him little leverage. Sitting beside her on the wooden floor, gazing at the tranquil, small lake in his garden, Sasuke gestured her to help herself. Before them a tray of little delicacies of heaven – Naruto’s image came to both their minds – was placed. The cupcakes were so fluffy that Hinata ate them without a minute notice.

Her hair swayed as she clutched her cheek, eyes turning into little hearts. “Naruto-kun is such a good baker!”

“Hn.” Sasuke agreed, less eagerly.

Hinata rolled her eyes at the stoic statue, before saying. “Sasuke-kun, I heard your health was bad, what’s happening?”

“I can’t eat,” He spoke in all truth. “I think it’s something psychological, at least that’s what my doctor says.”

Hinata’s eyes softened, she was happy that he wasn’t lying or shutting her out. Probably it was his own way of appreciating the friendship they had. With worry swirling within the lilac depth, Hinata asked.

“How about consulting with a psychiatrist or a dietician?”

“I’ve had my share of those, I don’t want to meet another doctor for a while, Hinata-chan. Their treatments never worked.”

“Hmm… maybe you just didn’t give it time.”

“To tell you the truth, I was unable to eat for a long time now,” Sasuke clarified, voice annulled of any emotion. “I’d resigned to life without taste ages ago. I ate even if I didn’t want to, simply to fuel my body. But, recently, just doing that was tiring… so I stopped.” 

“Even with Naruto-kun’s cooking?”

Sasuke looked at the cute cupcakes, he resisted the smile cracking at the corners of his mouth. “…I did have hope, I won’t deny it, I thought Naruto would be able to get me to see color. And little by little, he was doing it, I was able to eat things I detested, meals were fun and he was fun…”

“Why are you using the past tense? He’s still here, isn’t he?”

Tired eyes looked up at her, making Hinata’s heart squeeze in pain. “But that’s wrong. Naruto shouldn’t be here. He should be back to his restaurant and to his normal life before he’d met me. I’m nothing more than a nuisance to him.”

“I’m sure Naruto-kun doesn’t feel that way.” She countered, brows furrowed at his thoughts.

“I know… but that’s irrelevant. Naruto needs to forget about me and move on. He needs to let go of the stupid deal and this stupid attachment.”

Sasuke’s face twisted into a frown upon Hinata’s giggle. His puzzled looks were met with a reassuring smile.

“It’s funny, Sasuke-kun, really… your current self is the self I had five years ago. I was in the same dark place as you are now.” She gestured for him to let her continued. “Five years ago, I got real sick. I couldn’t even get out of bed. I remember that day as if it was yesterday, I had refused any medical treatment, I gave up on myself and life. My eyes saw nothing but darkness. I was tired of everything. Tired of trying out solutions. Tired of hospitals, doctors and false hope. I reached a stage where I wished for death. I was too weak to take my own life – so I wished for someone, anyone, to free me.” 

Her face was having calmness that Sasuke envied.

“You know at that time, Kiba-kun was by my side. I shut him out. I didn’t want to see him, didn’t want to feel any hope or allow him to give me any. I wanted him to get away from me and forget my existence. I honestly believed our meeting was the worst thing that had happened to him. I was always getting weaker, he had to suffer with me. He could have been with someone else, laughing and enjoying himself. Built a family with a girl who doesn’t collapse from a simple breath. With all of my heart, I wished time would turn around and for our meeting to never happen, but you know what?”

“…You don’t think that now.”

“Yes.” She beamed. “I don’t. Do you know what Kiba-kun told me when I was like that? He smiled and said that spending a minute with me was better than a lifetime away from me. He said that before he’d known me, he felt like he was missing something big; like when he was born, a big chunk out of his being was removed, and that chunk was me.” Hinata laughed. “I cried so much that night. All the dark feelings I had in me, they were shackling me to a silly idea. I wanted to die to free myself and those I’d cared about. But honestly, the only one who would be free would be me. I can’t undo knowing them and I couldn’t turn back time. What I could do was make every second count. I made an oath to myself that day, to live life to the fullest and make Kiba-kun’s time with me the best in his whole life.”

Sasuke didn’t know what to say to her warm feelings. Her situation was similar to his, though different elements arouse. He was certain Naruto’s emotions were the same as Kiba’s. Yet… he wasn’t as brave as Hinata. He couldn’t think of someone else beside himself. Death would set him free; this life had nothing more for him.

“Sasuke-kun, you might believe our situations are different, but they aren’t. It takes time to get out of that dark place. Kiba-kun was beside me every step on the way. There were days when I wanted to give up again, but I couldn’t. He wouldn’t let me; I thank God everyday for him. He’s the light in my life. Without him, I’d probably be in a grave mourning my lost life, or sitting in a shut room feeling sorry for myself.”

Her tone got a little bit harsh at the end, Sasuke knew perfectly well who she was referring to. A hand went to his hair as he let off a breath.

“You don’t get it, Hinata-chan –”

“But _I do_.” Hinata stressed her words. “You think you’re not brave enough to live, but you won’t do it alone. Naruto-kun would be there… I’d be there; we won’t leave you alone.”

Sasuke didn’t want to tell her, but he couldn’t hold it in anymore. As if narrating a written script, he spoke about the events that had occurred between them. He told his friend about his little play at the dark villa, how he was hurt beyond belief that Naruto had accepted the awfulness of those actions. When he recited, his expression didn’t change much, but Hinata saw the pain and hurt swirling inside, she stayed quiet waiting for him to finish. When everything was said and done, she released a sigh.

“Sasuke-kun, allow me to say this but… you’re one big idiot.” Black orbs blinked at her in surprise. Hinata quickly followed on her words, “You are still making the same mistakes as back then.”

As the cold air hit his face, he drowned. “What do you mean?”

“Remember when we were kids, I came and you told me about your awful relatives, you wanted to give up and run away. Right now, you’re doing the same thing. Naruto-kun did nothing wrong. I know him well so I can vouch for him. the reason he stayed silent and didn’t question you, was probably because he wanted you to tell him at your own time. Naruto-kun is that type of person, he doesn’t pressure anyone into anything. He would never have believed those rumors had you not been the one to say them. You’re basing your allegations and distrust on him believing you, right? Well, Sasuke-kun, that’s _love_!”

His brows furrowed as he asked puzzled. “How is believing the bad about me love?”

Hinata shook her head, her hair swaying with motion. “He believed them because _you_ said them. Not just that, he didn’t even think you were lying to him, think of it like this, if you were accused of a crime, everyone was saying you did it, but you said you didn’t, who do you think Naruto-kun would believe?”

“… There’s no proof that he’d believe me.”

“No, there is. Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun is a simple man, he’s not a complicated person. He’s a hardworking human. Even though life was very hard on him, his kind and truthful personality didn’t change. You also know this. You lived with him for months, he’s not the type to deceive people that long. Besides, he loves you. Just look at him now, even though you’re shutting him away, he’s still here, working hard to regain the trust he’d lost. Now, tell me, why not trust him?”

The raven haired businessman bit the insides of him gum, he fisted his hands as his features squeezed. Actually, he didn’t have anything to say back to Hinata. Within his heart, he couldn’t think bad of Naruto, he did push him away, but he just didn’t want him gone. Sasuke realized this, as much as he’d given up on life, a part of him wanted the dream he saw with Naruto. He wanted a chance to get back to that rundown apartment, spending days in silliness and delight. He wanted to but…

“From an outsider’s point of view,” Hinata’s serene voice cut through his thoughts. “Naruto-kun is trampling on his dignity running after you. Love is a two-way street, Sasuke-kun, you staying quiet and treating him coldly – while thinking that it’s in his best interest – is wrong. You need to talk to him, tell him all your fears and agonies. Allow him the choice. You might think he’s blinded by love and would chose you regardless, but that won’t happen. Naruto-kun is a reasonable person, he does allow his heart to delegate his life, but I do believe he can keep a level head when he needs to.”

He allowed her words to sink in, hating how they made sense to his messed up head. Nonetheless, he refuted them blindly. “…Talk about what? I don’t understand you.”

“For starters, tell him the things you just told me. Share everything truthfully, don’t lie to protect yourself, I’m sure Itachi-san didn’t want you to live life like this. He won’t be happy with you living in the shadows, please, try harder, Sasuke-kun, don’t give up… I too, don’t want to see you like this.”

The compassionate look in her eyes made something in him melt. Sasuke had a flashback of her younger self, also pleading for him to hang onto life with her huge, lavender eyes. Really, Hinata had never changed, she was always his little guardian angel. With a soft smile, he whispered.

“I’m not worth it, Hinata-chan. I’m not worth him.”

Hinata gestured to the blond that was heading their way, tray filled with other sweet delicacies. His entire being was glowing like a bright sun, the girl beamed back. “Clearly, he disagrees.”

Sasuke looked at the blond walking towards them and softly excused his presence, Hinata allowed him escape. She knew how hard her words were on him, the raven haired businessman needed time to himself, he needed to be alone to think right on all this. She just felt a little bit sorry for the blond, who from the moment Sasuke chose to leave, his face dropped in sadness.

Really, she prayed for the day when those two would be able to be together to come soon.

* * *

The breeze was nice. The outside allowed him a change of scenery. Hinata’s words were still twirling inside his head. To be honest, he understood what she was trying to tell him. ‘ _Don’t give up, give Naruto a chance’_. His heart was chirping that same sentence over and over again. Almost hypnotizing him. He looked at his left, the object of his affection was quietly looking at the park. In fact, he didn’t want to come. Yet Naruto had dragged him – no, _terrorized_ him – to come. The blond had stayed outside of his room, singing the whole night, annoying Sasuke with his tone-deaf voice until Sasuke yielded to an outing together. The black eyed male didn’t know what Naruto was plotting, but whatever it was, he was standing his ground.

“It’s nice to be out after such a long time, right?”

Sasuke merely looked at him, choosing to remain silent. Naruto didn’t give up.

“I know you are taking your time and all and I don’t want to rush anything… but Sasuke, I’m _lonely_.” The tone was so sweet that Sasuke’s heart stung. “I want to talk to you like we used to, I miss being beside you, and I miss our bickering. It’s already been a month and you’ve ignored me perfectly well, again, I’m _not_ pressuring you. I just want to ask you to give us a chance, postpone whatever plan you’re working on and allow yourself to believe in me. Our lives might change, but that change is for the better. I –”

Naruto was interrupted in his speech to persuade Sasuke when the raven haired male spoke. “…Alright.”

Blue eyes blinked a couple of times, he furrowed his brows, thinking that he might have misheard. “…Huh?”

“You want another chance, right? Okay… I agree.”

The blond still wasn’t sure his ears were working nice. “You sure!? You want to date me!?”

“You’ve been nagging at me non-stop for over a month. The least I could do is give you a chance.”

“So let me get this straight, you’re giving me a chance just because I’ve become annoying?”

Actually, that wasn’t the reason. He’d wanted to keep his ground, but after hearing Naruto say he was _lonely_. His will shattered. He didn’t know what did it, but he just couldn’t do this to Naruto anymore. Seeing those features squeeze in pain was unbearable. Sasuke was amazed at his own behavior. Nonetheless, he’d be caught dead before he reveals this to Naruto.

The black eyes man stood up, already irritated with repeating himself. “Do you want me to take it away?”

“No, no, no!” Naruto denied with all his might. “I’m just trying to know what cracked you.”

“…Hn.”

“Well, whatever it was, thank God! I was about to lose faith in my ability to persuade you.”

Before either of them said anything, the sky started to drizzle. Sasuke eyed the blond who dragged him out of the house unprepared. Naruto raised two hands in the air, already defending himself.

“The weathercast said it’d be sunny!”

Sasuke rolled his eyes and started walking. “Whatever.”

Naruto toed, noticing the other’s destination to the supermarket near the entrance of the park. He saw the amount of people holding umbrellas and cringed, next time he won’t believe the words of that weatherman. A total lapse in judgment. They got an umbrella that was as bright as the sun – yellow, Sasuke protested at the vibrant color, but it was the last in stock, it was either that or they drench. Taking the lesser of two evils, the raven haired male caved.

They started walking to where Sasuke had parked, which was a good five minutes-walk from their current location. The sound of cars, rain and people gave a nice melody to their silent stroll. Naruto was the one holding the big umbrella, he kept on glancing at Sasuke and grinning, the other was okay with it at first, but it got irritating at a point and he stopped the blond.

“Enough, stop acting like a girl on her first date!”

Upon feeling Sasuke’s original personality return, Naruto couldn’t hide the happiness in his voice. “Sorry, Sasuke, I can’t help it. I mean, it’s been a while since we were this close and don’t forget, you really gave me the cold-shoulder for a month. It’s not weird that I’m happy right now.”

Sasuke stopped walking at this and faced his significant other. He put a hand under his chin as he seemed to contemplate something, at the end, he resigned and offered. “Then, do you want to hold hands?”

Naruto’s eyes widened like there was no tomorrow, he looked right and left and the street had a decent amount of people – yes, it was a little bit more empty due to the rain, but still. He tilted his head to the right, asking to make sure. After all, Sasuke was just giving him bombs after bombs that day.

“Now? Here? Sure?”

A pale hand was extended to him, Naruto looked at it and without thinking too much, took it. It wasn’t every day that he’s allowed to hold Sasuke’s hand. Actually, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d come close to Sasuke, let alone touch a part of him. This all felt like a dream coming true, so he wasn’t about to refuse on account of strangers. Since he was young, he never cared about what others thought and he won’t start now.

Grinning like he owned the world, the blond started walking, his right hand holding the umbrella and the other tightly grasping Sasuke’s. Naruto didn’t leave any means for Sasuke to overthink his idea, or decide that people’s stares were too much to bear.

Sasuke looked at their joint hands and at Naruto who looked as if he’d just won the lottery, and smiled tenderly.

Under his breath, he whispered. “…Idiot.”

Maybe all of this wasn’t bad, maybe deciding to take Naruto’s hand on a whim was okay. Sasuke had never taken a huge gamble on life like this before, but he felt in his heart that maybe, _just maybe_ , he was finally making the right decision.

* * *

They went back to the mansion, Naruto urged the raven haired male to go and take a bath as not to get sick. Then they’d sit down and talk everything through. He knew that Sasuke agreed to date him, but he still needed to know what changed the other’s mind and, if this change is something permanent or temporarily. Naruto didn’t think he could withstand another separation; he didn’t have fight in him anymore.

Sitting obediently inside Sasuke’s room, for some reason he felt restless. Gulping down the odd feeling inside his throat, he blond relaxed his anxious heart. He didn’t know why he was suddenly nervous but for a reason, he was fidgety, suddenly he heard the door of the bathroom squeak open. He frowned, it hadn’t been two minutes since his supposed boyfriend had entered, could he have been done so soon?

Yet when a stark naked Uchiha stood in front of him, Naruto felt his jaw hit the ground. He wanted to be a gentleman and look away, but he humbly couldn’t.

Sasuke looked at him and huskily invited. “Naruto… want to take one together?”

Naruto didn’t know if his mouth was working or not, he wasn’t aware if he should or shouldn’t take that invitation. But Sasuke walked towards him and ever so slowly took his hand, guiding him up to stand. Disregarding the blond’s shock, he pulled him towards the bath. Like an obedient kitten, Naruto allowed his body to be dragged.

In a second, his clothes were discarded, Sasuke was swift with everything. At the other’s movements, Naruto felt his embarrassment turn into wonder. Before his heart could relax, he was escorted into the shower. Warm water trailed down his back. Naruto was allowed to wash his body; he didn’t spend a lot of time since Sasuke was watching his every move. He was a little embarrassed, being exposed like that, so he worked faster than needed. When he finished, Sasuke’s hand grabbed his again, leading the way to the Jacuzzi. Naruto’s eyes ate every crook and cranny of Sasuke’s body. Simply he was enchanted, he couldn’t look away.

Sasuke slowly entered the Jacuzzi, bubbles were everywhere, Sasuke’s pale form disappeared inside those bubbles. His hold on Naruto’s hand was firm as he pulled him along.

The warmth soon soothed his cold muscles, the blond tried to quieten his throbbing heart, but it was to no avail. It wasn’t the first time he sees a naked Sasuke, but God! It’s been a while! Again, he turned into a teenage girl, stealing glances from the corner of his eyes at his crush. Sasuke poured some water on his hair and Naruto drooled. Soft, black locks stuck to that pale skin, it put all shampoo commercials to shame. Sasuke was art in the making. His handsomeness was ethereal. He wasn’t human anymore. Naruto continued fantasizing inside his head, wanting to lick that nape, pinch Sasuke’s pink nipples until a moan escapes and torture those thin lips under his rule. It didn’t take long for his blood to move south. His lower half reacted strongly and, without meaning to, he was about to cum from his thoughts. Luckily the bubbles covered enough to give him protection –

Or so he thought, because in the next minute, he was jolted to reality. When he felt Sasuke’s toes curl around his raging manhood, a yelp escaped his lips. Naruto felt ashamed. Securing a boner when he was taking an innocent bath was _not_ courteous in any way.

Sasuke seemed to smirk at his blushing face and a small word escaped his lips. “ _Perv_ ~”

Naruto had no retort to that. He was indeed a pervert, when it got to Sasuke, he just couldn’t control his attraction. It didn’t help to have a sexy boyfriend beside him, especially when the last sexual act he did was a month ago. Sasuke’s feet grabbed hold of his dick, ever so tenderly, he kept on massaging it. Naruto was in agony, Sasuke’s technique was amazing! It was his first time receiving a foot-job, and God did it blow his mind!

The water underneath made Sasuke’s moves slicker, Naruto felt his face heat up. He clutched at the edges of the Jacuzzi, trying his hardest to stifle his moans. Yet when Sasuke’s toes began playing with his tip, he couldn’t hold his voice down. Through his foggy vision, Naruto saw Sasuke’s face twist with a playful grin. He was really enjoying tormenting him.

“Aummm… ghh… hah…”

Sasuke put a right amount of pressure to raise Naruto’s hopes, but when the blond neared release, he calmed down. Naruto wanted to come, he really wanted to, his whole body screamed that he should do something about this inhumane torture. So he pushed Sasuke’s wandering toes away, but it didn’t work. Sasuke kept a strong hold on him, refusing him relief. Pleading blue orbs looked at the raven haired beauty, Sasuke acted as if he was blind. So Naruto forced his weak voice to work.

“Sasuke… please… nm..n… it hurts..! ”

A thin, black brow was raised at this, Sasuke squeezed Naruto between the soles of his feet. Picking up the pace on his foot-job. Actually it was his first time giving such a sexual act, he wasn’t sure if he was doing it right or not, but how wrong can one go with a foot-job? The raven haired male used his observant nature to detect what made Naruto tick.

It wasn’t hard, in less than a minute, he was familiar with the spots that brought his boyfriend to heaven. Yet he didn’t want that to happen so, every once in a while, he’d slow down or tease another area, making Naruto wanton but not giving him complete pleasure. It was a play he enjoyed. However, the raging beast that was Uzumaki Naruto didn’t yield, Sasuke didn’t have time to react when the blond charged at him, full force, splashing water all around and hooked him in a passionate kiss.

Sasuke smirked into their kiss and changed his foot-job to a hand-job. Naruto quickly lavished Sasuke all over, practicing the fantasies he had moments ago. It was satisfactory. Naruto’s head was working on instinct only. He licked Sasuke’s cheek then bit it. Moving excitedly to plant a trail of kisses all over Sasuke’s face. How many times had he wanted to do this to Sasuke? How long did he masturbate to Sasuke’s voice and kisses? God! He was finally getting his reward!

Naruto, gladly threw away his reason.

Immersing in pleasure, his right hand dove inside Sasuke’s wet hair, drawing him closer. He pushed so hard that their position was now reversed. He was leaning on the edge of the Jacuzzi with Sasuke on top of him, Naruto had to use his left hand to steady them not to slip inside the water. Slowly, he adjusted their position. Now, both were sitting facing each other.

“…Eager, aren’t we?” Sasuke teased fondly.

Naruto gritted his teeth, he hated how he was the only one worked up. He wanted to wipe that smug expression off Sasuke’s face. With determination, Naruto put his hand on Sasuke’s member, he couldn’t see it very well from the bubbles, but when he felt how hard it was, the blond got haughty. The blue eyed chef stroked the areas that made Sasuke moan. Not a moment later, the bathroom was filled with their joint groans of ecstasy.

Sasuke was sure his body was filled with hickeys and bite marks from Naruto’s unrestricted brute force. Since both of them were on the verge of releasing and seeing white, Sasuke straddled Naruto and brought their manhoods closer together. With both of his hands, Sasuke thrusted up and down the shafts. He rubbed their tips while Naruto’s hands wandered around his body, entangling his black hair once, playing with his nipples again and finally, settling on pulling him closer by the waist.

“Nnmmm… Sasuke, harder…! Almost… almost there!”

“Hmm…”

The first to come was the blond, after all, he was being tormented long before Sasuke. However, Sasuke didn’t last long after him, their white cum was all over the bubbly water. Sasuke looked at the male before him, eyes glazed with desire. He felt both safe and happy. Naruto was really the answer to all his darkness. He was still not one hundred percent sure of his decision, but being with Naruto felt right. Maybe they were better off away from each other, but… the pain of separation was unbearable.

Sasuke might have trust issues and a day might come when he looks back and regrets this decision, yet right now, he decided to live day by day. Taking Hinata’s advice and bask in the sun, for once.

The black eyed male put his arms around Naruto’s neck, he pulled him closer in a deep kiss. Naruto was leaning on the side of the tub, basking in the afterglow of orgasm, yet with Sasuke’s intruding tongue, he was forced to change his position. Again, he had to steady both their forms not to slip into the water. However, with Sasuke’s continued pressure, and not wanting to break away from the kiss, he was forced to lean back. They were very close to being swarmed inside the water of bubbles and cum when Sasuke’s body suddenly lifted. He pulled his blond boyfriend up. Naruto wiped his face and hair, slightly relieved.

“We need to change the water.” Sasuke emotionlessly said, as if he didn’t engage in any embarrassing act a second ago.

“We need a new bath.” Naruto corrected with a grin that brightened the whole bathroom.

They looked at each other and the mess before them and without meaning to, laughter broke between them. Naruto felt a huge burden fall off his shoulders. He felt light and fluffy inside and from the sound of delight beside him, his boyfriend felt the same. They were finally back on the right track.

* * *

“Are you sure about this? I want to stay.” An anxious tone ranged.

Sasuke shook his head and pushed the blond out. “Your objective in staying has been fulfilled, you need to get back to work now. Remember, you worked really hard to build that restaurant. I don’t want to be the reason for it to go down.”

“It won’t!” Naruto exclaimed. “Sakura-chan and Shikamaru are very good managers!”

The black eyed male recalled how fondly Naruto had once spoken about Shikamaru. He was a quiet person who didn’t really make an impression on him, but he was one of the people Naruto had absolute faith in. Calling him a genius and a row gem. Still, Sasuke wasn’t budging from his opinion.

“Even if they are, you’re the main chef, a lot of people are regulars because of you. You’ve been here with me long enough. Now it’s time to get back to reality.”

The blond wanted to retort again but Sasuke’s words made sense. He really has been playing hooky for too long, and since the reason why he left his home was no more, he should just get back to work. But moving back home meant that he and Sasuke would no longer be living together. No more breakfast together, sleeping in each other’s arms or doing the naughty. Naruto was really reluctant to let go of that leisure.

“Don’t worry,” As if the Uchiha was able to read his mind, he reassured. “You will still see me enough.”

Naruto pouted and circled his arms around Sasuke, pulling him close. “I don’t think I can live without seeing you.”

“Don’t exaggerate. Your apartment isn’t that far away. Besides, a healthy relationship means both parties need enough alone-time.”

The blond furrowed his brows at this and countered. “Then… what if you up and go, Sasuke?”

The Uchiha stiffened in his arms a little, but then relaxed. He pushed Naruto away to be able to meet his gaze. “Naruto, you once said to me that I should trust you, that it’s okay to live with my inner darkness and that I can rely on you. Now it’s my turn to use those words, please, _trust me_. I _decided_ to be with you. That won’t change regardless of the distance. If you can’t trust me on this little thing, then I don’t think this relationship would last.”

The blond sighed and gave a small smile. Those words had sincerity in them. He needed to stop acting like a paranoid boyfriend and give Sasuke some space. They should have faith that they will be able to stay together. Sasuke was right. Gluing himself to the other simply because he was afraid Sasuke would change his mind, meant he had zero trust in him, which wasn’t right. He trusted Sasuke a great deal, however, he was still skeptical.

Naruto sighed and calmed his inner anxiety, _this was fine_ , his little doubts were fine. Time will erase them. The longer they stay together, the better their faith and trust would be. They were still stumbling awkwardly, but he was an optimist, so he knew it will work out well.

There was no sure ‘ _forever’_ but that didn’t matter, he will live without it.

“Alright, Sasuke,” Naruto beamed, agreeing. “I will move back home today.”

Sasuke gave a small smile to him and nodded. “Thank you.”

The blond took Sasuke’s hand in his and gave it a kiss. “I love you.”

It had been a habit by now, Naruto continued showering him with random ‘ _I love you’s_. As if he wanted to carve it into the dark side of Sasuke’s subconscious. Sasuke’s smile widened and a tiny blush showed on his face. He was beginning to get used to it, but it was still a little bit embarrassing to hear. With a squeeze to the hand in his, he whispered softly.

“…I know. Now, let’s go pack your stuff.”

Naruto grinned and nodded. He knew it was still hard for Sasuke to reciprocate his confession, but he wasn’t in a hurry. Until Sasuke could confess his emotions without reservations, he’d wait patiently.

* * *

Sakura put the soup down and walked to take her next order. The restaurant was very busy these days, as if all the regulars heard that Naruto was back, so they rushed to have their meals. She sighed as she took the chicken barbecue to new customer. Her jade orbs glanced at the quiet raven haired male sitting three seats to her left, looks of admiration from the female customers were surrounding him, Sakura humph-ed inside her head, if only she could shoo them away and shout that he was taken. Yet, she didn’t forget that she was one of them not too long ago, deciding that she wasn’t paid to fend hyenas off Naruto’s boyfriend, Sakura continued on her way.

On the other side of the restaurant, Naruto finished putting together Sasuke’s lunch and asked Ino to bring it to him. The blonde complied with starry eyes, skipping merrily to the hot piece of ass. It’d been a month since Naruto was back to work and it was as hectic as ever. They’d gone back to their initial agreement, but with few alterations. Instead of one meal a day, Sasuke would dine all his meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner – with him. The problem with tasting wasn’t solved one hundred percent, but it was better than when they were fighting. Almost as if once his inner demons were dealt with, Sasuke’s body was able to respond to food once more.

The businessman was able to stomach a meal of roasted beef, then compliment Naruto saying it was good. They still haven’t reached the level of ‘ _delicious’_ , but Naruto wasn’t discouraged. He knew a day would come when Sasuke’s able to eat everything with a genuine smile.

Ino came back with dreamy eyes and delivered Naruto a message, waking him from his thoughts.

“Your boyfriend says he’s going back to work, but he’s coming over to your apartment for dinner.”

Naruto nodded at her words. “Okay.”

With that Ino was on her way, when Naruto had first come back to the restaurant, he’d learnt that his friends already knew about his and Sasuke’s situation. Apparently Sakura wasn’t able to hide it well. He didn’t want to hide it per se, but he wasn’t sure where Sasuke stood with telling people. That’s why he asked them not to let it show that they know until he gets Sasuke’s consent, his staff obliged.

“Boss, what do you think of this?” From his right, the quiet tone of Gaara resonated.

The blond chef turned and a spoon filled with red chili sauce was placed near his mouth, he took a sip and commented with a smile. “The consistency is right, I like the play on sweet and spicy. This is good, we will add it to the menu!”

Gaara’s facial expression didn’t change much, but Naruto detected a hint of delight. The redhead nodded and walked away. Amused, the blond thought back on the time Gaara had first expressed his desire to learn cooking. Unbeknownst to all, he really had the talent for it. He was a great chef in the making, his palate was exceptional! Naruto thought that a year from now, the redhead would be able to stand together with him in the kitchen.

With that, the blond continued his work, he made a mind note to inform Neji about Gaara’s progress later on. Naruto couldn’t pinpoint it, but a feeling told him that Neji would be very happy to know that.

The evening didn’t take long to come, Naruto bid his workers goodbye and walked the small distance to his apartment. Getting inside, he went to take a shower and wash the tiredness of the day away. He really didn’t feel like cooking; that’ why he brought leftovers from the restaurant with him for their dinner. Putting the food on the table, he covered everything before he laid on his comfy bed. His body was honestly drained so in less than five minutes, he was already dozing off to the land of dreams.

The feel of soft lips on his temple brought Naruto back to reality. He squeezed his eyes open and yawned.

“Hi, when did you get back?”

Sasuke was sitting on the floor beside the bed and the mini, wooden table. His eyes scanned the now cold food and he answered, loosening his tie. “Just now, you can go back to sleep. I’ll eat first.”

The blond shook his head and got up. “Nah, I didn’t have dinner, either. Besides, the food needs to be reheated. Wait –”

Before Naruto could get up and warm the dinner, Sasuke already started with it. With a soft tone, he ordered. “No need, I’ll do it. You rest.”

Naruto gave a smile and watched his boyfriend reheat everything. Sasuke was in his suit’s shirt and pants, he looked like a salaryman coming back home from an exhausting day of work. Naruto really liked these moments, the everyday life and little gestures of love that Sasuke would do once in a while. His captivation didn’t last long as the raven haired Uchiha came back with the heated dishes. He placed them on the mini table and Naruto went to wash his face, before dinning.

The said their thanks for the food and started eating.

“This here, Sasuke, is a little bit sour, I went with a Chinese recipe for it. Actually, no, I mixed mine with a little bit of the Chinese version.” Naruto started enthusiastically ranting about his food. “Remember, the last time I used barbecue sauce but this time, I decided that mixing flavors is nice and you’re ready for it, so what do you think? Is it good? Do you like it?”

The raven haired male nodded, munching away. “Good.”

Naruto’s face lit up and he beamed. “Right! It’s good!”

They continued the rest of their dinner in silence, except for the occasional small talk Naruto would initiate, but regardless nothing major happened. Sasuke once again took it upon himself to clean the dishes. Naruto allowed him his leisure. Thirty minutes later, a showered Sasuke with a towel on his head was sitting beside him on the bed, going through work papers. Naruto was browsing some site about cooking, while the raven haired businessman finished his work.

“Sasuke?”

“Hmm?”

“Say, would you mind if I told my friends about us?” The question was said in a causal way, Naruto didn’t want to put a lot of pressure on the issue, he wanted Sasuke to treat it as a breezy subject.

“Do you want to tell them?” Sasuke asked one of his own.

“I told you to stop answering me with questions,” The blond rolled his eyes. “I’m asking _your_ opinion. In my case, it doesn’t matter to me if they found out or not. It won’t change anything. But I want to know your take on the subject, do you hate it?”

Sasuke put the papers in his hand on the nightstand, then pulled his hair free from the towel, before answering. “People’s opinions about me don’t matter, so if you want to tell them, It’s fine by me. I guess it’s not bad for the world to know you’re mine.”

He finished with a smirk. Tan hands circled around his midsection and Naruto inched closer. “I feel the same, Sasuke.”

“Hn.”

Sasuke took back his papers and returned to reviewing them. His hands would play with Naruto’s hair momentarily, both of them were enjoying their leisure time. As Naruto basked in Sasuke’s scent, something popped inside his head. He looked with shy eyes upwards, then blushed. The topic was a little bit sensitive, he didn’t want to reopen Sasuke’s wounds, but he really was curious. Deciding that it was fine to dare a question, he shyly asked.

“Umm… Sasuke?”

“Hmm?” Absentmindedly, he was replied to.

“I… there’s something I want to ask you… it’s fine if you don’t want to answer, I mean it’s just me being curious, but, if it’s not embarrassing for you,” Naruto knew he was ranting, but he felt a little uncomfortable himself, “I’d really want you to tell me, but you know, no pressure as always, if you don’t want –”

“What is it, Naruto?” Sasuke looked at his fidgeting boyfriend. “I don’t mind answering you anything.”

With those word, courage surged inside Naruto’s veins, he sat upright. “You know, I was wondering… you, you kept your distance from people, right? But you’re really good with the sexual stuff. I mean, did you like have a lot of girlfriends or… I err, how did you get to be so _g-g-good_ …!?”

Naruto’s face was flaming by now, he wanted to dig a hole and escape. Sasuke on the other hand was pretty entertained. For the second time that night, he discarded his papers to concentrate on his cute boyfriend.

“Well, to tell you the truth, I was exposed to sex from a young age. Remember my aunt, the one who liked parties?”

The blond nodded, recalling the horrific story of Sasuke’s past.

“Her parties were mostly sexual. Even if I didn’t want to, I saw people mix bodily fluids in every way possible. Actually, I think my own understanding of sex was distorted because of them. They engaged in a lot of orgies, sexuality was used for entertainment. I saw girls with girls, guys pleasuring other guys, everyone was on top of everyone, etcetera,” Sasuke’s tone was light, as if he was discussing the weather. When he saw Naruto’s eyes widen in horror, he clarified something. “Naruto, don’t worry… even though I saw those acts, my aunt was very strict, she never allowed anyone to touch me. I was never raped or had anything sexual done to me. But I do remember I was asked to watch some people as they were having sex. It excited them.”

Now, Naruto’s face was really squeezed in pain. Sasuke had been subjected to something so horrid, but he didn’t view it like that. He got used to something children shouldn’t see. Nonetheless, it explained a lot about Sasuke’s behaviors. Naruto could understand why Sasuke had asked for a threesome that night, his subconscious was forced to absorb so many things at a young age. He didn’t comprehend that it was something unusual. Probably, he thought that’s how people enjoyed their time together. It also demonstrated how he wasn’t reluctant to Naruto’s advances that night. A normal guy would have punched him to oblivion, not jerk-off together. Naruto bit his lower lip as he realized something:

This was something he shouldn’t have asked Sasuke, he should’ve stifled his curiosity.

“Naruto,” Sasuke’s voice was very soft when he addressed his boyfriend. The blond looked at him, trying not to show how deeply affected he was by his words. The businessman smiled and inched closer to him, with a tender touch, he cupped Naruto’s cheek and kissed it, then he continued. “I’ve made peace with my past. I don’t particularly think of myself as unfortunate. I was betrayed a lot and lived a hard life but it’s okay. I have long since stopped getting affected by it, so… please, don’t look like you’re about to cry.”

The blond put his hand on top of Sasuke’s and tried to nod. “I… I’m sorry, Sasuke. I didn’t want to remind you of bad memories. I didn’t think –”

“ _Na-Ru-To_ ,” Sasuke interrupted him, stressing every syllable in his name. “Listen to my words and _hear_ them. _I. Don’t. Mind. My. Past_! You can ask whatever you want. I don’t want to hide anything from you, be it good or bad. Besides, if I just told you the good things and hid the bad, would that make you happy?”

The blond thought about this a little. If Sasuke were to smother his pain and bad memories, never sharing them and just bottling them inside, was that good? He shook his head furiously. That was actually very bad and unhealthy. They should be in a healthy relationship, which meant that they needed to know everything about the other. No area was restricted or grey.

“No, Sasuke, I want you to tell me everything! Please, don’t hide anything!”

Sasuke showed him a genuine smile, before nodding. “Good, I’m glad you see it my way. Now, besides my wonderful skills, did you have any other questions?”

Naruto put a hand under his chin, trying to think. “Hmm… well, Sasuke, you didn’t really explain my first question that well. Even if you saw those acts, that doesn’t clarify why your techniques are good. And by the way, are you a virgin?”

The raven haired male relaxed back on the bed. “I never said that was the reason; but it was the beginning. It was like Sex Ed but hard copy; I was given a visual demonstration. For practicing… hmmm, I didn’t have girlfriends per se, but I did have partners. Don’t forget, I am human and I do have needs. I would be lying if I said I never had urges or thoughts about sex. My first partner was a senior in high school, she was insightful and saw that I didn’t want any bonds with anyone. Back then, she offered to take my virginity. I didn’t think too much about it and it happened. To tell you the truth, Naruto, sex was just like eating for me. I didn’t do it because I wanted it, but because I had to.”

“But you just said you had urges.” The blond refuted his words.

“Yeah, I did. But it wasn’t often that I experienced them. Besides, when women started stalking me, I think my nonexistent like for sex had died down.”

Naruto massaged Sasuke’s hand as he conversed with him, recalling how stressed his other half had been around the female population. “Hmm… I think I kinda get it. So tell me, how about now? How do you view sex?”

The raven haired male smiled, he leaned to steal a kiss from Naruto, then responded. “Naruto, you changed so many things in me, sex included. Honestly, sometimes it’s very hard for me to hold back when we are together. You might think I simply go with the flow, but that’s not true. If I didn’t like it, if I didn’t _want_ it, I’d never have slept with you.”

The blond’s face turned into a sweet smile. He remembered their first night together. It was shortly after he’d moved back to his apartment, about the fifth night, Sasuke had come over. One thing led to another and they ended up going all the way. Naruto was amazed that Sasuke allowed him to take the lead. He was both enchanted and thrilled. His boyfriend was wholeheartedly giving himself up to him, as if wanting Naruto to overwrite everything bad that had happened to him. One a level, Naruto liked to think that Sasuke gave him that honor; because his trust in Naruto had returned.

With a little blush decorating his tan skin, Naruto forced himself to stop remembering Sasuke’s alluring sight during sex, he was close to getting a nosebleed. Shaking the sexy image away, he blurted aloud “Y-Yeah, me too, Sasuke, I’d hate it if you didn’t enjoy yourself with me. If possible, I want you to experience all the possible pleasures.”

“Food and sex?” Sasuke questioned, amused.

“You know it, _Darling_ ~!”

A laugh escaped Sasuke’s lips at the mushiness that was Uzumaki Naruto. “ _Too sweet_ , Naruto, too sweet, remember I can’t stand sweet things.”

“Oh~ I haven’t even started yet, Baby~” Grinning, he chirped.

After that declaration, Naruto jumped on top of Sasuke. With a cheeky grin, he started tickling the businessman without mercy. The raven haired Uchiha had no time to prepare, he used all his power to fend Naruto off. But the blond was very resourceful, when Sasuke blocked his right side, he’d attack the left and vise versa. Finally, the businessman raised both hands surrendering, his breath was coming in gaps already.

“N-Naruto… no more Hahaha! Enough... hahaha spare me!”

Naruto’s expression softened as he drew closer to his boyfriend, seeing Sasuke laugh like that made his insides sing a ballad. He crept closer until he was face to face with Sasuke. In a second, he got down and captured Sasuke’s lips in a kiss. Sasuke fixed their position so that they would be lying in each other’s embrace, without putting a lot of pressure on wrong areas. Naruto grinned as he gave another chaste kiss to Sasuke’s lips. The Uchiha returned the kiss with a little bit more passion. They laid there for a while, making out a little until Naruto felt tired. He looked over and his boyfriend was also dozing off. Naruto chuckled. He reached a tan hand and switched off the lights, deciding that it was best to simply sleep.

Pulling the covers over them, he whispered in the dark room.

“Good night, Sasuke. Wake me up tomorrow before you leave.”

Sasuke nodded. “Alright. Nighty night.”

With that they drifted off to sleep, in each other’s arms. Sasuke’s papers have long been forgotten.

* * *

It happened on one late afternoon, everyone was going about their own business, another normal Sunday, but to Naruto, it was a special day. He fixed the bandana holding his golden locks together, then directed one of the movers to put the box in the room to his left. His eyes glanced at the new vicinity he’ll be occupying, and stars glittered all around him. His face broke into a relaxed smile. Another chapter of his life would begin here. The apartment wasn’t all that big, but it was just right for two.

Three rooms, a brand new kitchen, two bathrooms and two halls. It was pretty nice, they had a small veranda as well. Naruto walked to it and swung the door open, surely, his other half was gazing at the beautiful scenery with a calm expression. Tan arms circled Sasuke’s midsection as their owner planted a soft kiss on Sasuke’s cheek. With a voice both happy and soft, Naruto spoke.

“They’re done. Why not start unpacking now?”

Sasuke nodded to him and turned around, “Alright, that was fast.”

They went inside the apartment, the movers were done, everything was placed in the position Naruto had requested. They thanked the workers, paid them their fees and closed the door behind them. The two looked at the small boxes that needed their attention and, before Sasuke could get to work, Naruto twittered.

“Wait! I prepared a snack~!”

He hurried to the kitchen and came out holding a tray of chips, hot sauce and two glasses of mango juice. Sasuke took his cue and sat down, he started munching at the sweat and sour taste, before nodding his delight to Naruto.

“It’s good.”

“I know. Eat up! We’ll start with the bedroom then work our way to the other rooms, what do you say?”

“Agreed.”

Four hours later, they were finally done with the bedroom, Sasuke’s study and the guest room. They decided to wash up before lunch. While Naruto was talking to Sakura on the phone, Sasuke was the first to hit the shower. By the time he finished with her, Sasuke was leaving the shower. Holding a towel to dry his dripping locks, the raven haired male questioned.

“How’s Sakura-chan?”

“She’s good,” Naruto beamed. “She said she’s coming tomorrow to help out, even though I told her we did everything already…” He sighed at the end.

Sasuke sat down beside his boyfriend on the couch the movers had placed, then replied. “It’s fine, there’re still some things we need help with. I don’t mind her presence. But Somehow, Naruto, I don’t think she agrees to us living together.”

Naruto heaved another sigh, competing with the previous one. “No, she’s all for it, but you see… hmmm… how do I put it? It’s true I have other friends but Sakura-chan, we have always been together, she’s more like family. So I think she’s a little upset that I’m away now. Not in a romantic sense, but in my-brother-is-leaving-home-to-stay-with-his-boyfriend kinda vibe, get me?”

Sasuke nodded. “…So she’s sulking? But you two didn’t live together previously.”

“Yeah, we didn’t, but I was nearby, she would always drop by whenever. I was always available for her. But now, this apartment isn’t mine alone, she can’t act as freely as she used to. Maybe my words don’t make sense. I don’t know how to explain everything, it’s complicated –”

“No, it’s not.” His boyfriend assured him. “I get you. She’s family and I’m the intruder stealing her family away, it’s fine.” Sasuke gave a genuine smile. “I _understand_ her.”

Naruto gave a chaste kiss to his boyfriend, then got up. “Glad you do. I’m going to take a shower now.”

With that the blond was out of his viewfinder, Sasuke took the time to go to his study and organize his papers and books. Earlier when they were preparing everything, there were some important documents that he didn’t unpack. He needed to organize some things himself. Putting his glasses on, Sasuke sat down and started working. He was too engrossed in everything that he didn’t notice when the door was opened, and a refreshed looking Naruto sneaked to his side.

The blond knocked on the wooden desk to attract the other’s attention. “Sasuke, lunch’s ready.”

The businessman raised his head and gave a curt nod, he pulled off his glasses, arranged some documents in a file then exited the study, following behind Naruto. They sat down after washing their hands and starting dining. As always, Naruto filled the dining table with dishes Sasuke appeared to fancy, the raven haired male appreciated the small effort his boyfriend was putting into his nutrition. Every little gesture told him how much Naruto loved him, Sasuke wanted to extend the same courtesy to him.

“Naruto, when we’re done from here… I want you to come with me.”

The blond put a piece of radish in his mouth and cheerfully replied. “No problem, where to?”

“To visit my family’s graves. I want to introduce you.”

Naruto’s eyes widened slightly at the huge news, his insides tingled with delight. A big smile showed on his face, but all he could do was softly reply to Sasuke’s request. “Sure, Sasuke, I’d love to meet them.”

Sasuke nodded, then delicately whispered. “ _I love you_ , Naruto.”

Unconsciously, Naruto’s spoon fell from his hands. It wasn’t the first time his boyfriend had said the L-word, but being attacked so unexpectedly didn’t leave him time to reply. He picked up his spoon and coughed, a small blush on his tan cheeks.

“I love you, too, Sasuke.”

A serene smile showed on the businessman’s face. Just when Naruto thought he was done with surprises, his boyfriend threw a last one his way.

“Also,” Sasuke’s dark bangs fell on his face and hid his expression, “…Even though we just moved in here, I’d have to leave you alone for a while.”

The blond was again taken aback by the unexpected declaration, his heart thumped loudly, but he steadied it. Maybe Sasuke meant he was going on a business trip or something. Trying to get the gist from Sasuke, he was calm when asking. “…What do you mean by that, Sasuke?”

Sasuke was eating slowly as he responded. “I have finally woken up from the dark place where I’d been, Naruto. I realize now that one of the reasons I am not cured is because I didn’t want to. It was easier to live in darkness – to think I was the victim and blame the world for what had happened to me – than stand in the light. I also blamed you when you had done nothing but be there for me, Naruto. However, because of your love and the time we spent together, I was finally able to come to a decision.” Sasuke’s orbs shone brightly as he stated. “I want to get better, for myself first and for you. You have given me so much, more than I can ever hope to repay. It’s my time now to give you something back – but, I first need to get well to do that.”

The blond listened attentively to his love’s words, he gave him a welcoming environment to speak his mind, then questioned. “What have you decided, Sasuke?”

“I already booked an appointment with an excellent psychiatrist. I’ll see how they diagnose my condition and if it needs me to be admitted, I will be. I simply ask that you don’t visit me or come near me, I’m afraid that if I had a way out, I will run again. You are my safe haven, Naruto, I’m still not one hundred percent sure my weak self won’t waver. So…” Sasuke extended his hand and took hold of Naruto’s, with a gentle smile, he kissed the tan knuckles. “Please wait patiently for me, in our apartment, keep it safe for us. Don’t allow your heart to be stolen, I’ll be more than happy if you agreed to these little selfish wishes of mine.”

Sasuke beamed as Naruto pulled him into a tight embrace. He could feel Naruto softly sobbing behind him, he returned the hug and tenderly kissed Naruto’s neck. His heart told him to speak words of love to Naruto, however, he decided not to, they didn’t need cliché words anymore, having each other close was enough.

* * *

Naruto sighed as he signaled Sakura to come get one of his done dishes to a customer. It had been six months since he last saw Sasuke. After they went to visit Sasuke’s parents, his boyfriend told him to accompany him to the hospital. Of course, Naruto wasn’t allowed inside the session with Sasuke, so he waited patiently for him. After a while, the doctor allowed him inside and briefly explained Sasuke’s condition. She advised the raven haired man to admit himself; because she wanted to work on his deep scars. It was a choice they both were prepared for.

Naruto could still remember the day they parted, he hugged Sasuke close, reluctant to let him go. The duration of treatment wasn’t specified, it could be a month or a year, the doctor said that it all depended on Sasuke and how much he was willing to get better. Naruto hated that he couldn’t visit, but this was just another hurdle they’d overcome. If the end result was Sasuke getting cured, then he was fine with waiting.

The blond chef was pulled from his thoughts when Sakura gave another order. He nodded and started cooking again. They were in rush hour; everyone was very busy that he was making one dish after another like a machine. Grinning at his finished masterpieces, Naruto wiped the sweat from his forehead. As Sakura piled the orders for him, Naruto’s brows furrowed at a familiar one. He dismissed it and just cooked.

“Naruto, someone has something to say to you.” She came with a smile on her face.

The blond frowned more and asked. “Is there something wrong with the dishes?”

“I don’t know, he didn’t say, he just said he wanted to talk to the chef.”

“Hmm… okay, let me finish the thing in my hand and then I will go see him.”

Skipping merrily, Sakura left his side. The blond sighed and wished there was nothing wrong with his cooking. He was working dish after dish, but even though he had a lot on his plate, he was sure all his dishes were perfect! There was nothing missing or added and the flavors were spot on! As his brain worked, his fingertips were growing cold. Maybe he’d forgotten something being so busy? Maybe he just didn’t pay attention like he thought he had? Before his thoughts could steer him away to Doubt-Land, Naruto asked Chōji to take over as he wanted to go meet the customer, it was better to finish this early on so he could concentrate.

His eyes met Sakura’s and the girl mouthed the number of the table, Naruto nodded and made his way there. As he was getting closer, his heart was thumping loud. He was amazed as to the reason it was doing that, but didn’t overthink it. Yet, when he was finally a few steps to the table, he saw a familiar back and a black hair with a chicken butt end. The beats in his heart quickened as Naruto felt the corners of his eyes sting.

Even though the restaurant was full with people, at that moment, when he neared and came face to face with the customer, Naruto’s fingers jittered. There on the seat sat none other than his missed boyfriend, Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke’s face was bright and healthy, his hair had gotten longer but the same old hairstyle remained. He was eating the dishes Naruto had made with no issues, a tranquil expression was on his face. The blond had to sit down before his feet gave off.

“Sasuke…” As if he was lost in a dream, he whispered the name.

A blissful smile was given to him. The raven haired male continued dining as if wanting to show his boyfriend that he was alright. Naruto stifled his feelings and desire to touch, he watched with a loving expression Sasuke drink the soup, eat the steak and munch the rice with no issues. He made the dishes as he always had, with no specific alterations to fit Sasuke’s palate. Nonetheless, Sasuke was able to finish each and every dish. He wasn’t nauseated, he didn’t vomit and most of all, his expression didn’t change from enjoyment.

“It’s delicious,” The businessman wiped his mouth as he addressed Naruto. “Thanks for the meal, Naruto.”

Naruto had covered his face with his hands, he wasn’t able to speak right then, his heart was so full. He was certain if a word escaped his lips, his voice would crack. They stayed in silence until Naruto slowly moved his hands from his face, and extended a hand to touch Sasuke’s. His fingertips were still icy cold, however, Sasuke’s were warm. A goofy smile showed on his lips. They had traded places, Sasuke was always the one with cold hands and his were warm.

“Naruto, I’m _back_.”

Sasuke squeezed Naruto’s hand hard, trying to convey to him just how much he’d missed him. The blond nodded and squeezed back, receiving all of Sasuke’s emotions.

“Yeah, Sasuke, welcome back.”

That was it, they didn’t need a huge display of affection, no hugs or kisses were necessary; simply connecting together was enough. Holding onto each other’s hands was sufficient.

* * *

**Thank you guys for sticking with ‘till the end. It’s been a long journey. I hope this story filled you with happiness and positivity~! Farewell, until we meet again in another story. Comments and kudos are appreciated, as always *_*~**


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